Memories Left Behind
by pixelx
Summary: A mission gone awry for Kakashi had brought him to a village where he found the person who had been thought dead by everyone and mourned by many. But why didn't that person return to Konoha? What's keeping him there?
1. Prologue

Hello, dear readers. So last month I entered Nanowrimo November challenge and I decided to write Naruto fic. Unfortunately, I didn't win the 50,000 words challenge; not even by half of it (life got in the way and all that) but I do plan on completing this story. It'll be my main dish until it's completed. Enjoy and please read the author note below.

**Warning**: There'll be some OOC, drama and adventures. Please be warned that I'm not a fan of angst. XD

The piece took place three years after The Third Shinobi War (the current manga chapters). It's picked up from after Pain attacked Konoha and it'll go AU from there. I didn't put any specific events of what happened in between. It might go differently from the current/future manga or you guys could fill in the blanks yourself. And please, don't ask me about Sasuke. ;)

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Kakashi trudged alone through the thick forest that surrounded the Fire Country, dragging his left leg behind. That leg was not the only one injured besides his whole aching body. He lost count on his wounds after the third sword stab to his abdomen. Still, the silver haired jounin was grateful that none of his bones were broken. This was getting old. A simple B-class mission turned into an S-class mission just by adding in three missing nins (jounins if you must asked) and an S-class criminal to the mix and voilà. You got an upgrade of a couple of mission class level.

Three years had it been after the Third Shinobi War. Many lives had been lost; shinobi and civilians alike. The village had lain in crumble and for a period of time, the morality rate of the Konohans almost in the brink of collapsing. Living people suffered the aftermath of the war, no food to fill their bellies, no vegetation, and no jobs. The economy of Konoha and other shinobi villages had became stagnant to the point of crumbling.

But the village stubbornly held strong. Thanks to one Uzumaki Naruto. The blond sun-shine never failed to bring up the spirit in his friends and people overall with his optimistic attitude. All the Rookie 9 had this insane thought that they could and would rebuild Konoha and brought glory back to their village.

The Godaime had stepped down from her position as the Hokage and named Naruto as her heir. Being the only Sannin alive, Tsunade was too worn out physically and mentally from the wars and loses she had experience in her long life. Of course the council was against it; more so when the person who will be succeeding the chair was Naruto. Her selection was met with disapproval from the higher council as well as the civilian head representative. They claimed that his association with the traitor Sasuke and his inclination to go against the rules and the code of shinobi would bring disgrace to Konoha if he was to become their leader.

Tsunade was very firm with her decision and refuse to be told otherwise. So they had come to a compromise. Tsunade-sama had agreed to be Naruto advisor until his inauguration was accepted by all the villagers. Until then all decisions and suggestions would have to be approved by the Godaime and the council before they could be implemented.

_What a load of crap._

That's what Kakashi thought and had tried to defend his student. All his friends shared his sentiment but surprisingly, Naruto stopped them from bringing this up to those stuck up hags and bastards. The blond said that if that's how they want to do it, so be it. His dream to be a Hokage would not be deterred by their doubts and sceptical points. He'll have their acknowledgement in his own way. Naruto had shown his maturity which was beyond his age.

At that moment, never had Kakashi feeling more proud of his blonde student. He felt honoured that he had contributed something in Naruto upbringing albeit his was slighter than the other. Iruka sensei and Jiraiya-sama had made an impact on the young blond's life, making him the man he was today. But they had not been there to see the fruits of their labour.

An unnoticed root extruding from the ground caught his foot and Kakashi lost his balance. This was really getting old now as he fell not for the first time that day. His vision had became blurry and his limbs refused to move. Kakashi knew he mustn't fall here. He was the only person left. Naruto's only teacher that was still living; even Iruka sensei was…

Oh well, he's inside the Fire Country anyway and Konoha was only a day away by shinobi pace. Kakashi felt so tired, too worn for this kind of action. Seriously, a jounin his age should retired from the field job and maybe had a family, a kid or two. Damn, he sounded like Shikamaru. Kakashi was not a family man type and he knew the Hatake blood would end with him.

His eye had become heavy and drowsiness began to cloud his brain. Just a little while would be fine. He'd wake up as soon as he had gathered some energy, or maybe a couple of Anbu patrol would find him and bring him back to Konoha instead.

Kakashi closed his eyes and let slumber took him away from his consciousness. He didn't even notice a pair of feet making its way to where he was lying.

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A/n: As you can see, this is unbeta'ed. So what I need is a beta to do some beta-ing for me. English is not my first language, so you can see that my grammar (it's not the only one) a little messed up. So all a beta has to do is to help me with my grammar, spelling and sentence composition. I'll also need you to spot any plotholes if they exist. The pros of being my beta? You get to read my story a chapter earlier than the rest in full unbeta-ed glory. Please put away any sharp objects before attempting to read it, less you'd gouge your eyes by accident. XD


	2. Chapter 1 Meeting Designed by Heaven

Here's chapter 1. XD I forgot to put a disclaimer last chapter, so..

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

Special thanks to my Beta, Lost Highway for checking this out for me. I'll send chapter 2 to you soon (probably next week). XD If you guys spot any more mistakes, blame it on my itchy fingers.

And thank you to all who have reviewed, faved and alert this fic. Believe it or not, your inputs helped me continue this and update will come faster. ;)

* * *

A ray of sunlight piercing through his eyelids had roused Kakashi from his sleep. With ninja training ingrained within him, Kakashi let his senses familiarize themselves with his surrounding before opening his eyes. The smell of dried hay invaded his nostrils, soft ground under his body. There was no presence of life within the vicinity and he felt strangely comfortable. Kakashi dared himself to open his eye.

Ceiling beams entered his sight once the haziness had cleared away. Glancing further around gave him the idea that he was inside a small hut. His clothes had been changed and his mask- his hand shot out to his bare face, feeling stubble on his bare chin. Dread set in the pit of his stomach and his hand scrambled for any thing to defend himself with; weapon-less and immobile was bad news for a shinobi in a stranger's house.

"Oh, you are awake." A woman's voice penetrated his thought and Kakashi turned towards the voice. He didn't sense her presence before, further evidence of how weak he was.

"You were unconscious for three days, dear. We were beginning to worry." A kind old woman was standing at front door, holding a basket full of cabbages. She left the basket at the front door and made her way towards the silver haired man intending to check on his condition. Kakashi tensed under the cover. He couldn't move under the blanket without help due to his severe chakra depletion.

"You're lucky Hoshi-kun found you before the wild animals did or it would have meant trouble for you." She knelt beside his bedding and poured a glass of water for him.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked after a couple of sips that soothed his parched throat. The petite, old lady wore a simple brown kimono. Her white hair was tied up in a bun and there was a jade bangle decorating her small, wrinkled wrist. There was a small curve at the corner of her lips, softening her expression.

The old lady tsked at his manners but answered regardless. "The villagers here called me Miho-baa, ninja-san. And this small hut is my humble home."

Kakashi took in his surroundings once more; the hut was a simple square, approximately 15mX15m in dimensions. The floor was built of wood without a tatami covering it. There was a door for entry and exit and two windows held open by sticks. At the centre of the room was a shallow hole that served as a fireplace for cooking. Currently, there was a large pot over a small lit fire. A shoji door opposite of the main door led to a private quarter.

There weren't any unnatural signs on the old woman next to him that indicated her as an enemy. Her chakra was that of a civilian's and there wasn't any other strong chakra presence around the vicinity. With his instinct as his only guidance, the bed ridden man knew that this place was not a threat to him. Just a small village, with harmless civilians; it must be farmer's village. Remembering his manners, Kakashi introduced himself.

"Hatake Kakashi of Konoha. Thank you for taking me in while I was injured, but unfortunately, I must continue my journey home." Kakashi tried to sit up with difficulty but was stopped by a small wrinkled hand on his shoulder.

"Dear, you're in no condition to move around. I wouldn't want my grandson's work to be put to waste. It's not much but you can stay with us until you've healed. My Hoshi-kun would love that. You see, he's never once ventured out of this village and has never seen an outsider before. He would love to know more about the outside world." Miho tugged the blanket, covering the silver haired man to his waist and went to get the bandage supply.

Kakashi lay back on the bedding at her insistence and let himself be helped by the old lady. He listened politely as Miho-baa talked about her only grandson, their village, and her farming. All the while her hands were not idle as she changed his bandages and wiped him with a wet cloth. Once Kakashi was comfortably settled (he didn't mind his maskless face too much), Miho-baa went to the fireplace and tended to the fire; adding more firewood to it.

"Do you live here alone with your grandson?"

"Oh no, there's my husband Kiyoshi-san too. He's at the plot right now, tending to our cabbages and Hoshi-kun is helping him. That's why I'm able to rest for a while. We had a very rough life before Hoshi-kun came to live with us, and I've never been more grateful." She didn't turn around, too busy with her cooking to face him.

"You said that when he came into your life. Was he not your family?" If Kakashi noticed the tension in her thin frame, or the way her hands stopped moving for a fraction of a second, he didn't' comment. Instead he let Miho-baa continued with her work as if it didn't bother her.

"Oh no, of course he was. He's my grandson. He came to live with us about one and a half year ago since he had no one else. What a hard working child he is." she tried to change the subject. "The men will be home soon for lunch, so you will be able to meet them, dear." Miho-baa put 4 bowls on a tray and went to get the cabbages by the door.

Kakashi knew that she was hiding something from him. Whatever the reason was, the jounin wasn't one to pry. He was now alone, lying on an old straw-stuffed futon. His body still needed rest and he knew the best way was to sleep. Drowsiness began clouding his consciousness once again; Kakashi forced himself to fall into a light sleep. He needed to gain strength as quickly as possible and return home, but he couldn't afford to drop his guard either.

****

When Kakashi opened his eyes again, before quickly closing his left one, he sensed another occupant in the house (when did he fall asleep?). He was in his seventies and bald. You could see veins protruding on his skinny limbs, proof of a long life of hard work under the blazing sun. The man (Kiyoshi, Kakashi presumed) was sitting on the step floor facing the front door. He was lazily smoking his pipe while waiting for his wife to prepare their lunch. Kiyoshi turned to look at him when he felt eyes observing him. He smirked, showing his set of incomplete, yellow teeth. Even then, the ever-present frown marring his hard face didn't disappear.

"For a ninja, you're quite shabby, eh?" The old man had the gall to cackle nastily at his state.

"Oh leave him alone, Ji-ji. He has enough problems without you adding to them." Miho-baa's voice could be heard behind the shoji door.

"Bah! He should be lucky we were kind enough to bring him in. If it was me, I'd have left him to die."

"Ji-ji! Don't listen to him, dear. If it was him alone, I wouldn't have married him a long time ago." Miho-baa stepped put of the room and went to the boiling pot to stir the ingredients inside it.

"Oh, so _now_ she's complaining. She acts like a blushing virgin in front of a young man. Doesn't she realise she's an old hag now?" Kiyoshi spat.

"Maa." Kakashi said awkwardly. He felt like the middle person here as the old couple continued with their bantering. If he could move right now, Kakashi would have jutsu-ed away in less then a second and would have left them on their own. But alas, he couldn't get everything he wished for could he? The younger man noticed he hadn't seen the one other person who should have been in the house. Their grandson was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's your grandson?" Kakashi asked. The couple turned to look at him and it was Miho-baa that answered him.

"Oh, there's Miyuki-chan, you see. She invited him to have lunch together, so he's not coming home until this late evening." She chuckled lightly; her cheeks had a slight blush on it.

"Tch, that boy. Thinks we don't feed him enough." Kiyoshi grumbled.

"Oh, stop it Ji-ji. Miyuki-chan worked hard on that food. It's impolite to decline." She admonished her husband lightly. Again the banter continued and Kakashi was ignored. He noticed a pile of clean clothes near his head. On top of it was his hitai-ate and his mask. Unfortunately, his favourite green book was nowhere to be seen. Kakashi internally mourned for his lost book.

"I'm sorry, dear. Your clothes couldn't be salvaged, but you can have Hoshi-kun's. I'm glad that they fit you. We have your weapons too." Miho helped the ninja to sit up on the futon and placed a bowl of porridge in front of him. "Hoshi-kun is clumsy; he tried to play with one of them once and cut his finger while doing so. You can have it back once you can move about, ne?"

Kiyoshi had already started on his meal. Kakashi thanked her and he too started to dig in. His muscles and wounds ached and cramped at his every movement, his hands trembled while holding the bowl but the jounin managed to finish his food without any help from the couple. He placed the now empty bowl on the floor and reached for his mask. If Kiyoshi had any he questions about his mask, he didn't ask them. Instead he finished his own food and prepared to go back to his work.

"Ba-baa, I'll be leaving. You behave yourself you hear me."

"Oh, quit it Ji-ji. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't trust this guy." The old man looked at him distrustfully. He narrowed his eyes when Kakashi answered it with the upturn U-shape of his eyes. Without a second glance, he exited the house.

****

The third time Kakashi opened his eye; the sun was at the edge of the horizon, painting an orange hue to the sky. The crows were crowing, telling all creatures that the day was soon going to be over. The man blinked his eye tiredly and looked around the dim, empty house. There was a commotion outside of the house. He could hear voices of people talking loudly. Kakashi recognized two of them, the old couple. Merry laughter and the smooth voice of a young man and as well as the voices of a couple of kids crossed the open threshold. The bed ridden man could make out bits and pieces of the conversations. The male voice sounded excited and it didn't even stop for a breath as it continued jumping from one topic to another.

Kakashi rose as the voices got closer, indicating that they were entering the home soon. He was eager to meet the much talked about grandson and thank him properly for saving his life.

It was a big shock for Kakashi as the jounin's eye widened and his jaw almost dropped at the new arrival that entered the hut. Tan skin enveloped his fit body under his cargo pants and grimy t-shirt, his dark brown hair was short and spiky, and his brown eyes had a hint of warmth and a hidden curiosity towards the pale man in front of him. But most importantly, the horizontal scar across his nose was the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

"Iruka-sensei."

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Translation note:

Ba-baa = grandma/old woman (an endearment term an old man uses to call his wife)

Ji-ji = grandpa/old man (an endearment term an old woman uses to call her husband)


	3. Chapter 2 The Confused Child

**Disclaimer: If you recognised any of those characters, they belonged to Masashi Kishimoto. And if not, that means they're mine.**

A/n: First of all, I'm so sorry for my late and shorter update. My beta had to concentrate on her tests last week, naturally this had to wait. But anyway, chapter 3 is ready for mailing. And it's going to be longer too; twice the words than this one at least. ;)

Hugs and Kisses to Lost Highway for beta'ing for this me and to all reviewers, thank you so much for your inputs. I appreciate it a lot. XD

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Hoshi couldn't wait to return home. He regretted not going home for lunch this afternoon; even though the food Miyuki-chan had made was delicious, it was a little salty for his taste (but Hoshi told her it was delicious nonetheless). He ploughed the cabbage plot faster, hoping to finish the job sooner. On the other side, Kiyo-ji was busy pulling out weeds and roots.

Kiyo-ji said the man Hoshi had found had woken up and was asking for him. The man was a ninja; that's what Miho-baa had said. And a Konoha ninja at that, with a forehead protector, kunai, and everything. There were a lot of questions that Hoshi wished to ask him, like "what was it like to be a ninja?" The man must have many cool moves to defeat the enemies, like the ones the storyteller used to talk about. Maybe he could show some to him. Hoshi wiped the sweats off his forehead and thought back to when he found the ninja three days ago.

****(flashback)

It was late afternoon when Hoshi was on his way to the next village's market running a few errands for Miho-baa. It was not unusual for him to use the less traveled route as he preferred it to the ordinary ones. The shade provided by the forest canopy was perfect for him to stay hidden from the 'enemies'.

He would slip from tree to tree outside the enemies' vision, determined to get past them undetected. Out of the corner of his eyes, Hoshi saw one (Rock ninja by the looks of it), henged as a squirrel perched on a tree branch, scanning the perimeter. The brunet had no choice but to take out his hand-made kunai and throw it in the opposite direction. The wooden weapon hit another tree with a dull 'thunk' and the squirrel (enemy ninja) took the bait as it dropped its nuts and scrambled down the tree to investigate. Gaining the opening he was looking for, Hoshi ran as fast as he could away from his hidden spot.

That was close; Hoshi sighed in relief. He knew he wasn't safe yet. They were trying to stop him, but Hoshi was a ninja on a mission and no one could stop him; even an army of Rock ninja was too easy for the Great Hoshi-sama. Amusing himself by playing a ninja with an important mission, he stumbled upon a bleeding man sprawled on the ground by the tree.

It could be an enemy. The brunet hid behind a tree not too far away from the lying form. After much scouting and looking out, Hoshi deemed that the man was safe to go near. He prodded him with a stick. There was no response from the sleeping stranger, not even a twitch of a muscle. When it was clear that the man wouldn't wake up, Hoshi decided to bring this man home. Miho-baa would know what to do. His errand lay forgotten.

Kiyo-ji went mad went he saw the man on his back instead of his goods. Miho-baa calmly instructed him to bring the man inside and fetch a basin of water while ignoring her husband rant about bringing home every bleeding man they found. But he did tell them that he'd go and fetch the village healer for the man, leaving his grouse on in his wake. His shirt from that day was unsalvageable from all the blood sticking on to him and had to be burned along with the ninja's clothing.

****(end flashback)

Hoshi couldn't concentrate on his task at all after lunch. He tried to ask Kiyo-ji about the mystery ninja, but was ignored by the old man. Instead Kiyo-ji kept screaming at him for doing a sloppy job but nothing could curb the brunet's excitement to finish faster, albeit a little rushed. He almost left Kiyo-ji behind in order to reach home quickly, dragging the hoes and forks behind him.

For three days and nights, Hoshi had taken care of him; from cleaning his wounds to changing his bandages to spoon feeding him a mild porridge. When the brunet was working at the plot, Miho-baa would do it in his stead. From time to time, Hoshi would talk to the unconscious ninja telling him what he and his friends did that day. He told him about the biggest catfish he found in the river, a family of red foxes at the edge of the forest; anything that caught his interest.

"Hurry up Kiyo-ji. You're too slow." He turned toward the man behind him while walking backwards in order to cover more distance to his house.

"Shut up brat. _You're_ going too fast. The man's not going anywhere." Kiyoshi spat back.

Hoshi ignored the old man and continued forward with his steps. The tan brunet could already see the roof of their small hut and hastened his steps to cover more distance. He saw a couple of his friends already waiting for him at the house. Takeshi and Hisoka, two of his playmates, were sitting on a wooden bench, eating dango under the cherry tree. They waved at him as soon as he was within sight.

"Miho baa-chan said the ninja was still sleeping." Takeshi told him. The boy was in his thirteenth year; with his curly red hair obscuring his forehead almost covering his eyes. Every so often he would have to swipe his red hair to the side, even more so when he was anxious. His skin was almond brown and he was always seen with his favourite scarf around his neck. He was the leader of their little group.

"We came as soon as we heard had woken up, but I guess we were not fast enough. I need to go home soon. My mom will be worried if I don't get there before the sunset." Hisoka was the youngest of the three, even if you included Miyuki-chan. The second son of the landlord in this village, he had his black hair neatly combed to the back. His onyx eyes were big and round and his skin was sickly pale. The younger boy had a weak body and had to depend on his daily dose of medicine. Among them three, Hisoka was the only child that could afford to go to school.

"Don't sweat it, I'll tell you everything tomorrow. Maybe he could go fishing with us." Hoshi suggested to his friends. He took a stick of dango offered by Hisoka and chewed two in one bite.

"Besides, I promised Miyuki-chan that she could come with us too." At the mention of the girl, Takeshi snorted in disdain. He never liked that bossy woman anyway.

"Why did you ask her? She is always bossing you around. You're not her servant you know." The red haired boy complained. They were boys. Boys shouldn't be bossed around by the girls.

"Who says I am?" Hoshi retorted heatedly. His tan cheeks blushed in embarrassment. He hated being called names. "Baa-chan said that boys have to be gentle with girls." The silent brunet boy nodded agreeing.

"As if you can call that bossy woman a girl. She's annoying, more like a cat when its tail is being pulled." The red head boy made a yowling sound and mock-hissed at Iruka, trying to scratch him. "Not cute at all." he added.

"Takeshi-chan." Hisoka flustered. Hoshi couldn't help but laugh at his antics. While they were happily chattering, Kiyoshi arrived and scoffed at the noise they were making. He went to his wife who was cleaning their front yard and sat on a chair near the door.

"How's the ninja?" Kiyoshi asked gruffly. His hand was busy stuffing the tobacco into his pipe and promptly lit it up.

"He's sleeping. He must be very tired judging from all the sleeping he has done. Poor man." Miho sighed.

"He's a ninja. What do you expect? But if he keeps being a dead meat in this house, I don't see any reason for us to allow him to stay here any longer." The bald man blew a satisfying puff of smoke and let the pipe dangle between his chapped lips. He crossed his hands while watching Hoshi and his rowdy friends making a racket in front of his house.

"Oh, have a heart for once." Miho admonished. "Besides, Hoshi was very excited to meet him."

Kiyoshi tsk'ed and grumbled to himself. Miho smiled knowingly. She knew her husband had a soft spot for their grandson. She finished her job and started to make her way to the hut. Behind her, Kiyoshi followed suit.

Hoshi quickly parted ways with his friends and followed the couple into the house. His eagerness was renewed when he remembered about the man he found, now residing inside their hut. The silver haired ninja was already awake when he entered the house, sitting on his futon and wearing Hoshi's clothes. The brunet went near him and furrowed his forehead confusedly at the mask covering the lower part of the man's face. His scarred eye was closed and the other one had widened as if he was seeing a ghost. Was the man still sick?

"_Iruka-sensei."_

'Who?'

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A/n: Who indeed. *grins* You might find out about it in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 3 The One Man's Journey

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

Special thanks to my Beta, Lost Highway for checking this out for me. Chapter 4 is on its way. ;) If you guys spot any more mistakes, blame it on my itchy fingers.

Thank you for all the reviews you kind readers had left for me. They were the boosts I needed to keep writing. XD Please keep'em coming.

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"Iruka sensei."

It was an understatement to say that Kakashi was stunned. The man in front of him looked exactly like Iruka sensei. The same features, the same skin colour and the same height. What was more shocking was the horizontal scar right across his nose; the same position as Iruka's. His usually tied, long, brown hair might have been short and spiky now, but it didn't diminish his 'Iruka sensei' appearance one bit. Kakashi wished he could have opened his Sharingan to confirm his chakra, but maybe later.

"Ano…Who is this 'Iruka sensei' you're calling? My name's Hoshi. What's yours?" The brunet dropped on the floor, crossing his legs in front of him him. He gave the silver haired man a big grin; just like Iruka sensei's, just like Naruto's. Kakashi's chest hurt.

_What's going on?_

"Iruka sensei, it's me. I… don't you remember me?" There was no way, the tan man in front of him was not Iruka sensei. The chuunin academy teacher, the mission desk worker and Naruto's important person; the one who had changed the blond's life. But there was also no mistaking him in form of the man in front of him as a living proof. Kakashi couldn't help but keep his hopes up.

****flashback

Over one and a half years ago, Iruka was sent on a mission since the academy classes were fewer in between. While the village was still in its rebuilding state, the manpower was short and the academy had not fully opened. There were no new intakes for the new semester and the final year students had graduated early to fill in the empty slots. They strived hard to defend Konoha's position as one of the Five Great Shinobi villages, so clients demands had to be met as much as possible without insinuating that the village was crumbling. Besides, the money gained would be used for rebuilding the village.

It was a simple mission, B-rank. Him, two other chuunin and a jounin leader were to be escorting a group of merchants to the Wave port for trading their goods and it went without a hitch. But when they returned to Konoha, the only ones who came home was the group of merchants and two chuunin.

The report stated that the merchants were robbed by a group of bandits on their journey back. A jounin and a chuunin stayed back to ward off the outlaws while the rest escaped with their escorts. Upon scouting the site of attack, only one body was found amidst the bodies of nameless bandits. A jounin named Jyuushiro had been killed from a stab wound on the chest and there were remnants of poison disfiguring his face. One chuunin was missing, suspected dead judging from the fighting marks and blood traces on the ground. It seems that there were jutsu-users among the group and that both of them were outnumbered. The chuunin's name was identified to be Umino Iruka.

They couldn't afford to send a search team during this harsh period. The manpower available was too vital to be used to look for an unknown chuunin. Even at Naruto's and other shinobi's insistence, it was a lost cause from the beginning. There was no proof that Iruka could have survived the attack and they didn't want to waste their resources searching for a flickering shadow. Naruto had to finally yield as he understood that the need of the village came first before one's own.

In the end, Iruka was proclaimed dead and a funeral was held for him. Naruto had been heartbreakingly devastated at the time; refusing to give up on his academy teacher. He didn't even attend the service; holing himself in his apartment, refusing to eat much less take a bath. Three days after the service, Tsunade-sama had had enough. It took the blonde sannin, Sakura and shattered furniture to bring the blond out only to have him wailing his heart out on Iruka's memorial stone. Kakashi could only watch helplessly as Naruto destroyed his life; he isolated himself in his dingy apartment. Kakashi was his constant visitor when he was off duty; he made sure that the blond would eat, Sakura would come and clean his apartment on her day off from the hospital. Shikamaru would come and talk from time to time. Lee never failed to challenge him although he was turned down every time. The rest of Rookie 9 gave him their support in their own way. Kiba's was the loudest.

The village was even more depressed at the loss of two of their suns. One was warm and comforting while the other was a whirlwind and refreshing. No more boisterous laughter filled the gloomy village, nor did the spiky sun shined in the street, offering help here and there; making a nuisance out of himself.

It took Naruto a full week to sober up and regain his usual self. Nevertheless the bright light in his blue eyes had dimmed from the loss. Naruto said that he must move on. Iruka sensei would want him to achieve his dream and moping around wouldn't get him anywhere. A month later, Naruto had been proclaimed the Sixth Hokage by Tsunade-sama and he hadn't looked back ever since, becoming the pillar supporting his people.

****end flashback

"Hoshi-kun, the poor man has just woken up so you shouldn't be bothering him. Go and take a bath. You smell." Miho baa-san suggested, giving space for Kakashi to recollect himself.

"Am not." Hoshi retorted. His lips pouted slightly but he did get up to go wash himself. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Hoshi was his name, wasn't it?" Once the brunet was out of their sight, Kakashi asked the old lady. His throat dried and he tried to swallow his saliva; it could very well be his anger. All the time Naruto had been suffering and here he was healthy and safe in this remote village that shinobi rarely ventured into. He didn't know where to channel his anger so the bed ridden man kept it at the bottom of his stomach instead.

"Yes, a nice boy right?"

"He's not your real grandson." Kakashi said it with a conviction. Miho's back stiffened at the words. Wordlessly she started to light their oil lamp.

"He's our grandson regardless." Kiyoshi stressed, coming from the front door bringing in the hoes and forks that Hoshi left in their front yard. His wiry body tensed in defence. The man then continued blowing his pipe from his spot and ignored Kakashi. "Don't get any foolish ideas, ninja." Kiyoshi warned.

Kakashi was willing to let this matter slide, for now. But he swore that he would get to the bottom of this once he was able to move. It could be anything. The possibilities were endless. The man could be actually be in disguise, he could be hiding his identity from the old couple and they could be in an enemy's village. He could even lose his memories for cliché's sake. There's no way Iruka would abandon their village, his students and most of all, Naruto. But if it's true that he was the chuunin Umino Iruka, then Kakashi would bring him back to Konoha. Naruto would be very happy.

****

The next morning, Kakashi was alone with Hoshi; the old couple had gone to the marketplace in a bigger village to sell their cabbages. They left early in the morning, before the sun even came up; Kakashi thanked his luck. It was an opportunity for him to get some answers from the brunet without interruption.

But on the more pressing matter, the jounin had to sit apprehensively as he let himself changed and dressed by the tan man. He noticed that Hoshi had done the tasks with ease, meaning he had done this countless of time before. He brought a basin of water and a towel for Kakashi to wash his face with and then helped him with his crutches. Hoshi waited behind the partition as Kakashi relieved his bladder much to the silver haired man's embarrassment. But he'd rather not fall face down on his own waste.

The man was going somewhere and Kakashi intended to go with him. He waited in the front yard while Hoshi closed the door and together, they walked; Kakashi with his crutches while Hoshi was holding fishing rods and a pail. Kakashi could guess that he had invited himself to fishing. Along the way, Hoshi kept asking him questions, mainly about being a ninja. Like, 'what was it like when fighting a strong enemy? Did he feel scared?' 'Always, but you'll get used to it.' Kakashi must have some cool moves that could make the enemies pee in their pants. The silver haired man could only chuckle at that, saying that he had a couple up his sleeves but he had never seen an enemy wet his pants just by seeing them. More questions were bombarded his way and Kakashi answered them to the best that he could. Mostly, Kakashi skirted his answers around the academy, pre-genin students, mission room and a boy named Naruto. He wanted to see the brunet's reaction but to his disappointment, Hoshi hadn't shown any clue about what he was saying.

This brought him more proof on his earlier deduction. But Kakashi still needed to ask the old couple to confirm them.

"It must be awesome, living as a ninja." Hoshi looked at Kakashi with an awestruck expression on his face. It made Kakashi nervous, receiving such attention from the younger man. Had it been Iruka sensei, he would have just looked at the younger man strangely and shrugged it off as him being weird. But the man in front of him was not Iruka sensei, or part of him anyways.

"Being a ninja is a job, Hoshi-kun. Not a lifestyle. You're the one who said it." Kakahsi just chuckled good-naturedly.

"Eh?"

"Nothing, nothing. Are we here yet?" They had reached a small stream at the edge of the village. Kakashi looked around, surveying the surroundings in alert.

Hoshi too looked around and confirmed it. "Yes, but they're not here yet."

"Who?" Kakashi asked. He didn't know they were expecting anybody else. It put a damper on his plan.

"My friends, they're cool. I'll introduce you to them. They were the only ones who knew you're a ninja." The brunet smiled excitedly. But Kakashi was just the opposite. He didn't want to have any acquaintanceship with his friends. The silver haired just wanted to heal quickly and bring Iruka home as soon as possible. Kakashi heard them coming before he saw them.

"You're late." The younger man greeted them.

It surprised Kakashi that his friends were a bunch of kids, though judging by Hoshi's childlike behaviour, maybe he shouldn't have been.

"Shut up. We had to wait for Hisoka's mum to go out before he could come. The bossy woman isn't here yet, so we're not the last." Takeshi, the red haired boy crossed his arms stubbornly. His hands were still holding his own fishing rod and a pail, now dangling by his sides.

"I don't know if she's coming." Hoshi mulled.

"All the better. Did you bring the fish bait?" The red haired boy asked.

"Yup." Hoshi grinned. He shook the small tin he brought with him and handed some to Takeshi.

"You brought the ninja with you." The soft spoken Hisoka gestured the man who was silent beside Hoshi. "Is it okay? He had just woken up."

"Maa, don't worry about me. I'm alright." Kakashi spoke, for the first time since the boys reached here.

"Oh, let me introduce you guys. Guys, this is Kakashi. Kakashi these are my friends, Takeshi and Hisoka." It was an awkward exchange as Kakashi scratched his head nervous and clueless on what to expect.

Hisoka was the one to break the ice as he bowed his head slightly in respect. While Takeshi just harrumphed in greeting. "Anyway, let's start. We'll take this side." Hisoka pointed to the upstream.

"Yeah, meet us back at noon, got that." Takeshi ordered their little group and met with sounds of agreement from the members. Kakashi decided to follow Hoshi and together they moved a little bit downstream from the other two. He would observe for now.

They fished in silence, each one concentrating on their fishing rods. Being a shinobi gave Kakashi the advantage as he was acutely aware to the ripples in the water. He could feel as much as see a fish nibbling on his bait and one snap of his wrist had his prey hanging on his string.

Hoshi wasn't left behind. Not moment after Kakashi got his first catch, the brunet follow suit. Kakashi watched his level of concentration and his movement. The brunet was subconsciously using his shinobi training, so his chakra was still accessible. He was using them without him realizing it. Kakashi decided to test them further when he had the chance.

When they rejoined after the sun was at her peak, Hoshi and Takeshi compared their catches before it was distributed equally between them. Of course, theirs was much more. Takeshi's catches were admirable but Hisoka's contribution was less when combined with Takeshi.

"We could get more if you use your ninja stuff." Takeshi looked at Kakashi expectantly. The silver haired jounin was amused the boy's words. Hoshi was too busy counting his fishes to pay heed on their conversation.

If Kakashi could use the Chidori right now, they would cover the whole stream, but he was too weak to even spare a speck of his chakra. Besides he didn't see any reason to use any 'ninja stuff' when they had a perfect fishing rod and fish bait that they could use.

"Maa. That would negate the point of fishing." Kakashi smiled harmlessly. The red haired boy just snorted in disgust.

"Or, you could teach us -."

"No." Kakashi cut him off before Takeshi could finish the sentence. His voice lowered and his lone eye hard and serious. Silence filled the area as all eyes were focused on him, even Hoshi looked up from his counting.

"Kakashi." Hoshi weakly ventured, trying to dissolved the tension. He knew not to test the red head's temper. Takeshi could be mean when he was in a bad mood. "Maybe later, right? Takeshi, he had just woken up. You shouldn't ask too much from him." Hoshi tried to pacify both sides.

"I can't teach you ninja arts and I won't."

Takeshi's face darkened at the refusal. He looked at Hoshi as if he was at fault here. "And why the hell's not?" The red head demanded.

"You don't have what it takes to be a shinobi." Kakashi's answered was blunt and he realised that it added to the anger Takeshi was having.

"Tch dammit! What's so good about being a ninja anyway?" Takeshi left them, stomping. Hisoka looked between both of them before he followed after the fuming boy.

Once they were alone, Hoshi looked at Kakashi. "Why didn't you agree to teach him ninja stuff?" The tone was apprehensive and puzzling but there was no denying the hint of accusation in it.

Kakashi's patient was running thin. "You of all people should know."

"What do you mean? Know what?" Hoshi was confused. The other man acted as if he knew so many things about ninja which baffled the younger brunet.

"Don't play dumb with me, Iruka sensei." Kakashi let go of the crutches and grabbed the man shoulder, seconds from shaking him in his anger. The jounin ignored the look of shock and pain in the other's brown eyes as his clutches tightened.

"Leave him alone!" Reacting on instinct, Kakashi let the man go and managed to avoid a rock aiming for his head. He whipped around to look for the assailant. It annoyed him that he couldn't sense the person before and he blamed it on his anger.

A young woman nearing her twenties, wearing a maroon kimono glared angrily at him. The kimono hem only reached to her knees and she was wearing a pair of wooden geta. Fire lit up in her green eyes and her lips thinned in a frown. Her light brown hair was tied messily in a ponytail. She reached for Iruka's shoulder when she neared him, fussing over the male brunet.

"Miyuki-chan. I'm fine." Iruka was annoyed by the attention. He quickly went to Kakashi to steady the now wobbling frame. Now that his crutches were on the ground, Kakashi had to lean onto Iruka for support.

"Why do you have to help this jerk? He was trying to hurt you remember?"

So the woman was Miyuki that Miho-baa had been talking about. She reminded him of a frisky cat.

"He's not," Iruka defended. "Anyway, you're late and we're going home now. So I'll see you later, kay?" Iruka picked up the crutches and handed them to Kakashi. He then collected their fishing rods and bucket filled with fishes before they walked home, leaving Miyuki behind.

"Wait, Hoshi-kun!" Miyuki's call was ignored as both men continued their track home.

"I'm sorry." Kakashi said once they were away from the girl.

"That's okay, Kakashi. I understand." Hoshi gave him a small grin.

"I don't think you do, Iruka." Kakashi whispered lowly. It wasn't supposed to be for the brunet's ears, but he heard him anyway. Hoshi looked at his face unreadable and they continued home nonetheless.

* * *

A/n: I should have done this sooner. ^_^;

Translation note:

Hoshi – Star

Kiyoshi – Quiet

Miho – Beautiful

Takeshi – Unbending

Hisoka – Quiet

Miyuki - Silence of deep snow

Some secrets are revealed and more will be discovered in the next update. Please look forward to it. XD


	5. Chapter 4 One Man's Tears

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

As usual Lost Highway did a good job at beta-ing this fic and save you, readers from suffering the same tortures she had. (chapter 5 will be a little late) XD If you still spot any mistakes then they're my own as I couldn't resist a little tweak here and there.

And not forgetting all the lovely reviews left for me. I'm so happy.

* * *

The period of time Kakashi had spent with the old couple and their grandson had given him plenty of opportunities to test Hoshi's ability in utilising his power. He observed the younger man while he was playing with his friends. Though a little bit rough around the edges, Hoshi had shown great skill in his reflexes and agility; one that could rival a chuunin. Because of his physical advantage, the kids wouldn't play with him, yet they wouldn't side with him either; except Takeshi and Hisoka. They called him 'Giant kid' for acting like a kid even at his adult age.

They had a brawl once, after he had ditched his crutches a week later. It started with something he had said to the tan man and it tickled the man's temper. Before Kakashi could blink, Hoshi tackled him towards the ground, shouting at him to take back what he had said, but Kakashi's pride had refused to give in, even if his strength had already given up. They rolled on the ground trying to pin the each other down until they reached a slope and tumbled down in surprise. When they reached the foot of the small hill, Kakashi and Hoshi lay next to each other, catching their breath. Even when the brunet had called him mean he still couldn't help a smile from being plastered on his face.

Once he was able to walk steadily, the silver haired man would follow the men to their cabbage plot and help out. Miho-baa had protested vehemently since his wounds were still healing but Kakashi waved it off, saying that he had to earn his keep, as Kiyoshi put it. And during that one week of his observation, confirmed his suspicion.

Despite the physical similarity between Hoshi and Iruka sensei, the man was physically fit for a simple farm boy. Except for his scar across his nose and other scars all over his body obviously from kunai wounds and sword stabs, there was also a long one on his back almost touching his spine. Naruto had told him once that Iruka-sensei had received a scar from a giant shuriken to his back when the chuunin had saved him from Mizuki.

He demonstrated an agility and strength superior to any adult civilian and possessed a vast knowledge about the forest, more than the villagers. He knew which plants were safe to eat, which could cause a rash on your skin, and which could cure an insect's sting. His instinct and awareness had saved him from many dangerous spots like hunters' traps or traps laid by himself (they were the basic ones taken out of the Chuunin Training Manual pages). The last step now was to ask the old couple themselves about the truth.

***

"There's something I would like to talk to you Miho-baa, about Hoshi." They were alone in the house. Kakashi was sitting on the steps while he watched the elder woman preparing lunch. The silence from her prompted Kakashi to talk anyway.

"There was a ninja in our village. He was a teacher who taught children striving to be a ninja in the academy. He also assisted our Hokage in handling missions given to squads. Generally he was a good ninja liked by his friends and students. Over a year and a half ago, he was assigned to a mission and failed to return. We couldn't search for his whereabouts because of our unfortunate situation at that time, and he was proclaimed dead." Kakashi stopped for a while, watching for any signs from Miho. When he saw none, the silver haired man continued.

"The man had a tan skin complexion, just like Hoshi's, dark brown hair just like his and what's more surprising, the ninja I'm talking about had a scar across his face just like your grandson, Hoshi. The ninja I'm talking about had a lot of similarities to your grandson."

Miho put down the ladle, but otherwise did not turn back. She faced ahead looking at the wall in front of her and took a tired breath. "Would you leave him alone, ninja-san? Could you let that ninja die in peace? Forever remembered by his loved ones as an exceptional shinobi who died for his village?"

Kakashi closed his eye, understanding. "Afraid I can't do that Miho baa. It's my principle not to abandon my comrades. And Hoshi, Iruka is my comrade. He has family there, people who mourned for him and love him still." Kakashi remember Naruto who never failed to visit Iruka's grave every day, even in his busy schedule, just like Kakashi did at the memorial stone. Naruto shouldn't be like him and it left a bitter taste in the silver haired man's mouth. It made him resolute to continue with his earlier intention.

"I won't leave here without him." Kakashi said firmly.

Miho was quiet for a little while. Subtly she wiped her wet eyes with the sleeve of her kimono and picked up her ladle back. "I see." was all she said.

Outside the front door, Kiyoshi was leaning against the door, wisp of smoke lingering in the air. Silence once again descended on the room and Kakashi let the implication fell between them. They knew that Kakashi would take away their grandson away and they wondered if there was anything they could do to keep him here.

"About a one and half years ago, we were on our way from the market selling our cabbages. It was a crappy sale that day and we returned late after the sun had already set. We found him just like the way he found you, on the river bed near our village; faced down on the mud, we thought he was robbed and left to die there. He had nothing on his person except the pants he was wearing at that time. His head was severely wounded, several broken bones and his chest was bleeding heavily. Our village healer thought he wouldn't survive the first night. But miraculously he pulled through." It was Kiyoshi who had first spoken. He entered the hut and sat at his smoking spot. He knocked out the tobacco residue and refilled his pipe before lighting it.

"The poor man didn't remember his own past or his own name, acting like child, without care of his identity. He might have suffered some trauma from his injury. But he was very eager to help. Our dimmed life has brightened since he was with us, so we named him Hoshi; representing the bright star that brought us hope."

"We can tell you're not lying to us ninja-san." Miho continued. "We knew Hoshi-kun was different from regular people. He didn't think that it was odd. It just came naturally to him. He can work for long hours and do heavy lifting even when the strongest in our village couldn't. It's like there was an infinite energy in him."

Kakashi listened to the couple's story. "I understand what you're going through, but my decision hasn't changed. I'm planning to bring him home."

"Bring who home?" Hoshi asked out of nowhere. He had just returned, wet from his bath and stood at the threshold looking at them confusedly.

Kakashi looked at the brunet steadily and opened his mouth. "Hoshi, there's something I would-"

"Please let us tell him, ninja-san." Miho pleaded him. Kakashi just nodded and sat silently.

"Hoshi dear, come and sit here please." Miho patted the spot in front of her, waiting patiently for the brunet to comply. When he sat, looking at them confusedly, Miho looked at her grandson for a long time before she opened her mouth to speak.

"There's something we would like you to know."

****

Hoshi sat silently, overlooking the cabbage plot he was working on. He mulled over the new information that Miho-baa had told him yesterday. Everything felt surreal, his life had changed after he found that ninja in the forest.

Hoshi didn't remember anything from before a year and a half ago and it hadn't bother him at all, until now. As long as the brunet remembered, he had always lived with the old couple working on this plot. He had always been their grandson. They might have a poor and rough life, but the three of them were happy. Miho baa was a very gentle woman, always smiling kindly at him and never once had she scolded him for his mischief.

Kiyo-ji on the other hand was fierce on the outside but deep down he was a kind old man. Hoshi adored both of them. And then, Hoshi found friendship in Hisoka and Takeshi when other kids refused to let him joined them.

Takeshi's mother had died when the boy was little. He lived with his gambler of a father and their lives depended on the river's produce. Despite his hot temper, Takeshi was a hard working boy and always defended him when he was being bullied by other kids.

Hisoka's family on the other hand, was rich. His father was the village landlord and his mother was a housewife. The boy's father owned half of the land in the village but not including Kiyo-ji's cabbage plot. Kiyo-ji had earned hard money to buy the land as it was the old man's principle not to owe anyone anything.

And then there was a girl in their odd group. Miyuki-chan's parents were still alive. She was a bit tomboyish and bossy to the boys but she had always been especially kind to Hoshi. He wondered why Takeshi didn't like her and vice versa as she was always hit him on the head for some stupid reason.

Kakashi said he wanted to take Hoshi with him, saying he was a ninja before he lost his memory. He wanted to take him home. But where was home? Konoha? Or here? His head hurt just thinking about it. Kakashi said that he had comrades there, people who cared for him, for the man named Iruka but Hoshi was Hoshi, not Iruka, would they still liked him?

A different part in him was excited about going to the ninja village. A place he only heard from the story-teller; ninja who could fly through rooftops, disappeared in the puff of smoke or turned into an animal. His heart was torn between staying and going.

"Don't think too much about it, Iruka. You'll turn bald before your age." Light comment came out of the silver haired man's mouth as the ninja sat beside him. The brunet drew his legs closer to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. So he's Iruka now? He pointedly ignored the comment.

"I don't know what you're talking about. It doesn't concern me." He was lying through his teeth and he knew it, but there's no way he would let Kakashi guessing his thought.

"It concerns you, Iruka. Remember that we'll be leaving in a few days." Kakashi reasoned. Preparation had to be made before they leave this village.

Hoshi snapped towards him. He hadn't agreed to this. What made the ninja think that he'd follow the other man to Konoha "Who said I'm leaving with you?" Hoshi asked in surprise.

"What are you talking about, Iruka? You can't stay here."

"I can and I will!"

"Iruka, listen to me. You don't belong here. Your place is in Konoha and being a shinobi. There's a great healer in Konoha, she'll be able to help you regain your memory back."

Hoshi was strickened at the prospect of leaving. His face flushed red as his frustration grew and hastily the brunet stood up and faced the jounin. "You don't know anything. I don't want to be Iruka, I'm Hoshi and I'm not going anywhere. And you can't make me!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. As if by saying it the words would stay true. He didn't want to be Iruka if he had to leave his grandparents and his friends. Hoshi ran down the path towards the stream, where they had gone fishing before, leaving Kakashi at the cabbage plot.

"Iruka, wait!" He was gone before Kakashi had the chance get up. Thinking it would be best to leave him be and waited until the man had cooled down before confronting him again, Kakashi looked over the land as he contemplate the man's words. It was not hard to figure out what Iruka was thinking and he tried to think of another alternative if the tan man still refused to go with him.

****

Hoshi saw his friends by the stream; Hisoka, Takeshi and Miyuki were huddled together as if they were plotting something. As one, they looked at him once Hoshi called out to them. Silence filled in as the two parties regarded each other; confused and gloomy.

Takeshi stepped forward. "We've heard." His boyish voice was hard, unbecoming of his face. His brows were set in a frown and his eyes looked accusingly at Hoshi.

'_What?_' Hoshi didn't like the drop he felt at the pit of his stomach.

"The ninja said you're one of them. He knew who you are." The hint of betrayal was evident his eyes and Hoshi couldn't help the flinch in his frame. The brunet had no idea where Takeshi had heard it.

"Are you going to leave with him?" Hisoka timidly asked.

"Leave? No. I'm going to stay here with you guys."

"Why not?" Takeshi asked hotly. "There's nothing here."

"Takeshi!" Miyuki screeched right through the red haired teen ears. "Hoshi-kun can stay here however he wants. Don't listen to him, Hoshi-kun. He's just being his stupid self." The girl hastily assured his older friend though her smile was weak, Hoshi could see her hesitation there.

"Shut up, stupid woman! You know it's true. He's a ninja and he has his ninja friends there. There's no way he would want to stay in this shitty village. Hoshi is not even his real name!" His face distorted in anger causing the timid Hisoka to flinch at the shout. His face paled as his obsidian orbs looked unblinkingly at the older teen.

Takeshi never screamed at Miyuki-chan. Grumbled, yes. Cursed, yes but never had he directed his rage at the girl and Hoshi could see the fear in the pretty face. How he wished Takeshi would stop.

"No, that's not true. I don't have any ninja friends." Hoshi felt the tears gathering in his eyes. Why were his friends acting like this? He didn't understand this anymore. They used to be good friends up until they found out that he was a ninja.

"You guys _are_ my friends." Hoshi insisted helplessly.

"Then, you'll teach us ninja stuff?" The red haired teen asked him challengingly. As if that could redeem the tan man's betrayal and they could return to be friends again.

"Wha… I can't do that. I don't know any ninja stuff. Takeshi you have to believe me." Hoshi felt frustrated with the turn of events. He tried to convince the group but the disbelief written over the angry face of their self proclaimed leader told him it was of no use.

"You lied. You are just like him. High and mighty ninja like yourself wouldn't want to associate with us" Takeshi spat in spite.

"It's not true!" It hurts, Takeshi was ignoring him. Alienating him just because he wasn't the same as them anymore. Sobs escape through his clenched mouth as he could only watch Takeshi turned his back on him and left. Hisoka looked at him forlornly, before he followed the older boy. Only Miyuki-chan left. She tried to approach him but the brunet quickly ran home, ignoring her call. He didn't want her to see him crying like a baby

Hoshi reached his house and searched for his Miho-baa. He found her sitting at the front yard, sewing. Hoshi sat in front of her.

"What's wrong dear?" The elder woman asked him. Her ever kind eyes watched him patiently.

"Ne, Miho baa. Do you want me to leave too?" The brunet asked desperately. His hands on his laps bunched tightly around the hem of his shirt as he waited for her answer. What if Miho-baa and Kiyo-ji wanted him to leave too? What if they didn't want him anymore?

Miho-baa looked at him in shock before she shook her head slowly. "No, why would I want you too? You're my grandson. You can stay here as long as you want."

"But everyone… since they knew I was a ninja. Hisoka and Takeshi don't want to play with me anymore. I told them I won't leave here. I want to stay with Kiyo-ji and Miho-baa, but-" His rapid words was silent by the small hand on top of his and Hoshi looked up at Miho-baa in sorrow. His brown eyes bright with tears that threatened to fall.

"I'm happy to know that, dear. But is it really what _you_ want?" Her kind face couldn't have been any kinder as she smiled gently, knowing.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's what I want." So it was true. They wanted him to kick him out as well. Tears started to fall down his cheeks and he looked down to hide them.

"Hoshi-kun you know you're not a very good liar." Miho-baa explained patiently. "I remember you've always wanted to see the outside world. You liked stories about ninja the most. You would sit in the front row when the story teller came to our village and telling tales about The Gutsy Ninja. They're your favourite."

"So I know you wouldn't want to lose this chance to go to a ninja village. Now why would you want to stay here? I wonder." The old woman asked teasingly.

Tan cheeks flushed red. Miho-baa's guess had been spot on, yet Hoshi refused to be deterred. "But if I left, who would tend to the cabbages?" Iruka asked her eagerly. The couple was too old to do the hard tasks and Iruka felt guilty leaving them.

"Tch. Who do you think has been doing that all these years?" Old voice sounded from the front door.

"Kiyo-ji?"

Kiyoshi removed the straw hat he was wearing when he went out to work this morning. He crossed his wiry arms and looked down at Iruka kneeling in front of his wife. "The cabbages were fine before you came and will be fine for the next 20 years. Don't concern yourself over something so trivial."

"Kiyo-ji, Miho-baa." This time tears fell freely down his cheeks like a waterfall. Hoshi was touched at the couple's generosity. Willing to let him go even when they needed him here. "I won't forget both of you." Sobs tore through his throat as he cried on Miho's lap while Kiyoshi leaned on the wall, subtly wiping his damp eyes.

"You'll take care of him, won't you?" He addressed the silver haired man who leaned at the outside wall behind him.

"He can take care of himself. But I'll be looking out for him."

* * *

A/n: It's confirmed that Hoshi was indeed Iruka. (for those who had guessed correctly. Yay) Next chapter: Kakashi was a counsellor in his previous life? (gasp) A love confession? (double gasp). More drama shall ensue. (sigh) Just hurry up and return to Konoha already!

Please look forward to it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 XD


	6. Chapter 5 The Gap Between Oil and Water

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

Great thanks to my beta, Lost Highway for her great work of editing this piece; any other mistakes were my own. Also to all reviewers for your kind words and encouragements. Especially the anonymous reviewers whom I couldn't thank personally.

On to the story. XD

* * *

"Hey, Hoshi-chan." Hoshi-Iruka was getting ready for the night when he recognised the voice calling for his name at the front door. Kakashi said that he should get used to address himself as Iruka, even if every one here called him Hoshi; excluding the silver haired ninja.

"Hisoka? Why are you here so late at night?" The dark haired teen was wearing his sleeping yukata with an overcoat draped over it. Iruka wondered if he slipped out of his house without his parents' knowledge to come here.

"I'm sorry about what happened today." Hisoka started after they had sat comfortably on the bench. "Takeshi-chan didn't mean it. You know how he is when he lets his anger rule him." The kind and gentle Hisoka apologised on Takeshi's behalf as the younger teen smiled awkwardly at the brunet.

It didn't bother him, really. "I know." Takeshi must have been really mad when he thought that Kakashi was going to take him away from the village. They were best friends for more than a year and now that Iruka had discovered who he was, Takeshi must have been scared that things could never be the same between them.

"Are you really leaving?" asked Hisoka.

"Yeah, Kakashi said it's best to leave soon." A couple weeks after Iruka had found the mysterious ninja lying wounded in the forest, the man was able to walk without the aid of crutches. His chakra-or-whatever he called it had been mostly restored and they had been preparing for their travel once Iruka had agreed to come with him.

"Was it because of what Takeshi said?" Ventured Hisoka. Takeshi hated competition. It was one of his great flaws apart from his temper. The young teen understood his friend's anger, despite the older brunet's positive attitude. But Hisoka still regarded Takeshi as his important friend.

"Not really. But I think part of what Takeshi said was true. I just didn't want to admit it since it hasn't bothered me before, but Takeshi made me realize that I shouldn't avoid this anymore. I want to know who I really was."

"About Takeshi-chan." Hisoka hesitated once before deciding to open his mouth anyway. "He didn't want me to tell anybody but when he was at home, his father always beat him whenever he lost in gambling." Hisoka released a weary breath, relieved to finally be able to tell somebody.

Disbelief marred Iruka's tan face as he took in the information. "I didn't know." He sighed. The red haired teen was always smiling or scowling whenever they saw each other and he had never once seen any wounds or bruises on him. "Why wouldn't he tell me?" Weren't they good friends?

The teen patted Iruka's back in consolation and explained further. "It's not your fault. I also found out about it accidentally. Takeshi-chan made me promise not to tell anyone. He thought that if he could be stronger, he could leave his father and this village." Takeshi had never liked it here. He resented his father for the death of his mother, yet the old man was the only family Takeshi had. He had told them that he had wanted to leave this village and started a new life once he had collected enough money. Iruka didn't understand then; a child could never survive on his own in the real world.

Some friend he was. All this time he never realized his friend's suffering, too blissfully happy in his own life. Iruka raked over his mind, trying to think of a way to help Takeshi.

"Don't fret over it, Hoshi-chan."

"But… There must be something I could do."

"Don't. Takeshi-chan would be angrier if he found out I'm telling you this. He's stubborn and he won't accept any help. Not even from his friends." Hisoka and Takeshi were friends for far longer than Iruka was, before he came to the village. Both of them sat together wordlessly on the bench until Hisoka bid him good night and return home.

****

"No." Kakashi answered.

"What? Why not?" Iruka asked. Even though he wasn't actually surprised by the man's refusal, a corner of his heart had hoped that Kakashi would do the opposite. _Typical of Kakashi._

"Iruka. We shinobi, save princesses in distress, infiltrate enemy's base, deflect a rain of kunai single-handedly, acting bodyguards to Daimyo, etc. But curing a gambling addict and handling hormone raging teenager, is not part our job descriptions. Besides, if he didn't want to be helped, nothing we do would change him."

The younger man was not deterred by the capricious excuse. "There must be something I can do. He helped me when I was in trouble. I don't want Takeshi to hate me." Iruka continued to convince him. He was actually in the next village on Miho-baa's errand; Kakashi was just tagging along.

Iruka's hopeful eyes; brown and big focussing solely and closely at him were making Kakashi uncomfortable at the breach of his personal space. Kakashi pushed his face away, ensuing an indignant yelp from the younger man. The silver haired ninja heaved a long sigh, knowing he would regret it later. "I'll see what I can do _but_, you have to do exactly as I say."

Kakashi reasoned that he didn't want Iruka to have any second thoughts before they leave this village. He wanted Iruka to come with him voluntarily and focus on his healing once they reached Konoha. Now to think of what he could do for the brunet's friend, Takeshi; even if he really didn't want to.

****

It took less than a day for the silver haired man to track Takeshi's father down, and he found him playing 'Hanafuda' at the gambling den. The place was a small establishment operating in a simple house between the village and its next neighbour. Most of the gamblers were the villagers but Kakashi spotted a few officers among them. The shinobi waved away the curling smoke that seemed to be constantly drifting around the room as he entered the place.

The man was skinny with a bald spot on his head as he bowed down, concentrating on his cards. His small dark eyes had bags under them, signs of a lack of sleep. Kakashi watched the man picked up a card, frowned and threw it on the ground in frustration. Other patrons did the same except for some lucky few who cheered over their fortunes and began to collect the money.

Kakashi took the opportunity to join the group when one of them had to leave with an empty pocket and put a couple of coins at the centre. He waited for his turn after the dealer had passed on the deck. When it was time for them to pick up their cards, Kakashi showed his and smiled in satisfaction at the disappointment of other group members. Once he had collected enough money, Kakashi left the den, knowing that his job here was done.

"I know it." The man accused.

"Hmm?" Kakashi had taken a detour towards a back alley and waited for the man to reveal himself and as he expected, it was Takeshi's father.

"You were cheating weren't you? Nobody can obtain three Hiki in a row without discarding a single card. That's impossible even for the Daikoku-sama." (God of Wealth and Fortune)

"What proof do you have? Maybe I'm just being very lucky." Kakashi countered quickly. He sweated a little, feigning to be nervous that his plan was being found out.

"I know who you are. You're staying with the old couple who work at a cabbage farm. My son is friend with their adopted grandson and he told me you were a ninja." The man stated with conviction. "I won't go telling on you. We are neighbours after all. Just give me half of your winning and I'll forget it ever happened."

Kakashi had anticipated his moves. The man fell right into his trap. He fished out the amount of money that he had pocketed earlier and pretended to half-heartedly hand them to Takeshi's father. "Just promise me this; that you won't use the money for gambling today. Go home, maybe buy something for your son and don't tell anyone."

The man eagerly accepted the money but scoffed at Kakashi's advice. "Yeah, yeah. Don't tell me what to do."

Watching the man leave the place, Kakashi could predict that as soon as he got out of the alley, he would forget his promise.

**

The next day, Kakashi met Takeshi's father again. Or rather the man was waiting for him by the stream with his fishnet lying tangled under the tree.

"What do you want?" Kakashi asked in annoyance.

"Hey listen. I want you to teach me how to better at 'Hanafuda'."

"How to cheat you say?" He drawled lazily.

"Shut up! Just tell me what I have to do and I won't bother you again!"

Kakashi now knew where Takeshi got his temper from. 'Like father like son'. The ninja sighed before putting down his fishing rod and crouched down on the ground. Motioning for the man to do the same, he began to teach him.

"Now, remember. You can't use this trick more than three times in a row or they'll find out. Leave the place as soon as you get the money." Kakashi watched Takeshi's father left and picked up his fishing rod, heading for the downstream. The man was eager to try out the new tricks that his fishnet had laid forgotten where he left it.

**

Kakashi met him for the third time at the market after he had helped Kiyoshi unloading the cabbages for sale. He had wondered down the street and saw Takeshi's father at his own stall, selling fish.

One look at the man and Kakashi could guess what had happened. "You used it more than three times, didn't you?" It had happened to too many gamblers who were blinded by greed and money. The man had paid no heed to his warning and was caught by the den's guards.

He refused eye contact with Kakashi as he busily arranged his goods. There were purple and red bruises forming at the corner of his mouth and on his cheek. His right hand was bandaged and two of his fingers were broken, judging by the braces holding the fingers straight.

"You know. Think of this as your chance to quit that gambling habits of yours. Your son would hate you less." Kakashi left the stall when it was clear that he was being ignored. The man wouldn't be allowed into any gambling dens until his hand was healed. Broken fingers were the signs of swindling and a reminder for other patrons the retribution of swindlers.

The first few days of Kakashi's observation, Takeshi's father had been restless. His good hand shook, longing for a dice, or a card. His appetite had lessened and the bags under his eyes had become more prominent. Though, Kakashi noticed that Takeshi had been pleased with his father's lack of gambling activity. He even taught his son how to gamble much to the teen's disgust, just so that he could release his hankering. Father and son bonding were essential for the son's growth; Kakashi summarized. Next, it's up to Iruka.

**

Iruka waited by the side of the road where he knew Takeshi would be passing by. The teen walked pass him when they crossed path but Iruka was not easily ignored. The tan man quickly caught up with Takeshi's much smaller pace.

"Takeshi, wait. We need to talk." Iruka called out after him. His request went unheard and the teen continued with his path, not even once stopping or looking back at him. Annoyed with his stubbornness, Iruka grabbed his shoulder and tried to have a face to face with him.

"What?" Takeshi retaliated harshly, slapping his hand away.

"Hisoka might have told you, but I still want to tell you that I'm going to Konoha with Kakashi." Iruka was prepared to receive any onslaught (verbal or physical) from the red haired teen like the evening before, but Takeshi had just looked at him for a moment, expressionless before he continued on his tracks. "Good for you then."

The lack of response disappointed the brunet and he went after him. "But I don't want to go without some amity between us."

"So you want me to see you off? Watch you rubbing it on my face? Is that it?" His tone underlying bitterness and resentment as he hastened his pace intending to leave Iruka behind.

"I heard what happened to your father."

The words had Takeshi halted in his track. "Tch. That was your friend's fault." he accused.

"Kakashi just wanted to help. I'm the one who asked him to. I don't want you to be upset."

"..."

"Takeshi. Just talk to your father. Tell him how you feel. I'm sure your father suffered as much as you do, so if-"

"Stop it! Don't butt into other's problems that you don't even understand. Just get out of this village already." The word cut through his heart sharper than a blade. Iruka watched helplessly, holding to his aching chest as the red head disappeared from his view.

**

"Well. I guess we failed." Kakashi stated after Iruka recounted to him what had happened between him and Takeshi. He wondered if it was Naruto, would the outcome have turn out differently. The blond had a gift for being able to reach other people hearts, Shinobi and civilians alike.

"Yeah. We even made things worse." Iruka chuckled humourlessly. Takeshi would never want to see him again, much less talk to him. The brunet felt sad by the turn of events but deep inside he did not regret at what he had done. "But, I'm glad. Even if he hates me now at the very least, Takeshi knows my feeling for him."

"You know, Iruka. If there is one thing Kami-sama don't have any power over, is the people's will. Whether to move forward or to stay stagnant in the end, it's decided by their own determination."

****

Their preparation was finally complete. After a few days of gathering enough money and supplies for their journey, Kakashi decided that tomorrow would be the day they would depart. He had already sent the words to Konoha that he would be returning soon, though he deliberately omitted the information about Iruka for his own safety. He hoped Naruto would understand.

Within the last few days, Iruka worked extra hard in order to ease the burden of his grandparents during his would be absence. There was enough firewood to last them for about a month, enough rice and salted fishes so Miho-baa and Kiyo-ji wouldn't have to go buy them at the next village and had filled all the water jugs in the house to the brim. He mended the roof and damaged tools, oiled the cart wheels and pulled out weeds and roots in the farm; anything that came in his mind so that they don't have to do any heavy tasks, for a while.

***

Miyuki had wanted to talk to him in private so he went to see her one late afternoon at the promised place by edge of the village where none would venture.

"I heard you'll be leaving tomorrow."

Iruka hadn't spoken to her since the day Takeshi had broken their friendship. He had intended to talk to her but a lot of things happened and it was pushed to the back of his mind. "Yeah, Kakashi is all better now, he wants to leave early tomorrow."

Iruka could see the unhappiness written on her pretty face. Miyuki-chan was his only female friend in this village when everyone was always making fun of him. They made fun of Miyuki-chan too, for hanging out with him. "Can't you not go?" Miyuki asked desperately, rendered Iruka's surprise at her request. "I don't want you to leave."

"Why?" Iruka suddenly found himself with an armful of the girl as she hugged him tightly. Her slim arms wrapped around his neck and her head rested on his broad shoulder. Iruka's face reddened at the close contact as his hands hanging in the air. "Miyuki-chan?"

"Please don't go, Hoshi-kun. All this time I've always."

"Miyuki-ch-"

The girl leaned forward and placed her rosy lips on Iruka's, cutting off his word. Iruka stiffened at the intimacy. He didn't know what to do nor did he even think of returning the kiss. The man just stood there hands still frozen in the air. His eyes still widened in shock even as Miyuki let go of his lips.

"I've always like you, Hoshi-kun." Her fair cheeks now matched his in a brilliant shade of red though her clear jade eyes looked at him silently, hopeful but hesitant.

Iruka's heart was beating fast at the unexpected confession as he scrambled for words. "Miyuki-chan. You're a beautiful girl I'm sure there are others who can make you happy. And no matter what, you'll always be my friend." Iruka hastily assured her.

"I see. I'm just your friend." She was dismayed by his weak attempt at reassuring her. Without words Miyuki ran, embarrassed at the rejection. She wished for once, Iruka would chase after her and tell her it was a lie.

Iruka was left alone, still rooted on his spot. He didn't know what else to say and he couldn't chase after her. That wouldn't be fair for the girl. It was true that he hadn't considered any deeper feeling for the brunette girl except friends.

* * *

Translation notes:

**Hanafuda** are playing cards of Japanese origin (karuta cards), used to play a number of games. The name literally translates as 'flower cards'. (Wiki)

**Hiki **like a royal flush in poker. Winner takes all.

A/n: - The truth is I don't know anything about Hanafuda or gambling in general. I watched Mugen and the gang (Samurai Champloo anime) played it once and decided to put it in here. (All Wiki reference) Sorry if the facts were not as accurate. ;P

Next chapter; Konoha, here we come. (Finally ^_^;) But, would their journey be as smooth as they hoped. Find out next chapter.


	7. Chapter 6 The two men's Journey

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

Apologise for the late update. I just can't post this story fast enough. ^_^; Hopefully everyone hadn't forgotten about this yet. XD

Great thanks to my beta Lost Highway. And also thank you for the reviews and faves. In this chapter, Kakashi and Iruka will begun their journey home to Konoha. Hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

As soon as the sun had risen, both Kakashi and Iruka were all packed and ready for their journey to Konoha. Kakashi had decided that it would be best for them to travel using the travellers' route. There's no way the younger man could keep up with his ninja speed in his current condition and Kakashi didn't want to take any chances, less the enemies had decided that they would test their skills by challenging the Sharigan Kakashi.

It would take two and a half days along the traveller's route and they would pass through the city first before arriving at the Hidden Ninja Village of Leaves. Apart from Kiyoshi and Miho, only Miyuki-chan and Hisoka had come to see him off. The dark haired teen didn't know where Takeshi was, much to Iruka's disappointment. Miyuki-chan gave him boiled tapiocas to eat on their journey. Nothing was being said about yesterday's event, but the man still blushed when she hugged him. A couple of hugs and tears later, Iruka and Kakashi were on their way.

****

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"…Are we there yet?"

Sigh. "No." What is it with kids and this kind of question anyway?

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, Iruka. No!"

"Why not?"

Iruka sensei shouldn't have been whining. The man was the epitome of patience. He taught Konoha's children who had the attention spans of squirrels how to become good shinobi when no jounin could. He handled the mission desk as well as the shinobi who had the attention spans of adult squirrels. He took no nonsense from anyone. So Iruka should not act like a whiny brat who could rival the young Naruto. Kakashi could feel a headache like a giant hammer, pounding at the back of his head. It was going to be a long journey.

They stopped at a small teashop by the road to have lunch and opened their bento Miho-baa had prepared for them. Iruka stared curiously at his travelling companion while munching on his onigiri. It marvelled him that the silver head man could eat three onigiri in a blink of an eye while he was just starting on his second. The questioning stare unnerved him, Kakashi decided to have the question out of the way.

"Is there something on my face?" Kakashi asked lazily.

Iruka shook his head. "Why are you wearing a mask?"

It was a question asked a lot that he was used to it. So he didn't take any offence when Iruka asked it. "The same reason why the earth is round." Kakashi drawled.

"LIAR! It can't be that important. Besides, I've seen your face. It's not like you're hideous or anything. You look normal for a guy."

"Maa, I'll take that as a compliment. And since you still have the energy to ask mundane questions, we better get going." Kakashi got up and walked away without looking back.

"Wait, you haven't answered my question…I haven't finished my lunch yet!" Iruka stuffed his third onigiri into his mouth and downed his tea in one gulp. Kakashi was already a few steps ahead of him as he hurriedly packed his bento and chased after the man.

****

They spent the night at a cheap inn in a village they were passing and continued their journey the next morning after breakfast.

"We'll be passing by the city so we could restock our food."

"City?" Iruka perked at the word. He had never seen a city before, or couldn't recall the memory of going to the city. But the thought about entering the city was getting him excited.

"Do you think maybe we could stop there a little longer?" The tan man asked him hopefully.

"No, I don't think so. It'll only take a day to reach Konoha from the city. We shouldn't waste time."

"But, I've never been to the city before." Iruka pouted.

"Yes, you have. You just don't remember it."

"That doesn't count."

When Iruka didn't receive any answer from the silver haired man, "I wanna go to the city…" He whined.

"No is no."

"Please…"

"..."

"Fine! Be that way." Iruka groused before muttering under his breath but making sure that Kakashi would hear it. "Spoilsport."

"That's just childish, Iruka." Kakashi chided.

"Hnn, did you say something?"

"We can't waste our time sightseeing in the city. It's better if we reach Konoha as soon as possible."

Iruka decided to ignore his words and continued nonetheless. "Aah, I wonder if the city has any fun places."

"Iruka."

"Miho-baa came from the city, before she married Kiyo-ji. She told me about the life in the city. There were so many people, as many as the number of rice grains in a sack; everyone was always busy doing something. It has big and tall buildings, and at nights you can see colourful light; you think you were standing inside a rainbow."

"Iruka."

"But that was fifty years ago. I wonder what else has changed, ne?" Iruka concluded with a longing sighed as he looked ahead forlornly.

"Iruka."

"Hmm?"

They had stopped walking at some point of the one sided conversation and regarded each other; expressive brown eyes to cool lone dark gray. Kakashi finally sighed in defeat. "Just for half a day."

"What?"

"Take it or leave it."

"Thank you." Iruka beamed excitedly. Half a day was enough for now, he thought.

****

The city was really big; scratch that, it was huge. His neck hurt just by looking everywhere. Some of the buildings were tall, they almost touched the clouds.

"Stay close to me."

Kakashi's order went unheard as he paid attention to his surroundings, watching the city folks busy with their own businesses. Stores lined the wide road, selling food he had never seen or even remembered remember having seen, and clothes in different kinds of colour and fashion. His brown eyes were wide, taking in everything.

Once in a while he would stop Kakashi in his tracks to ask him about what he had seen and why it was that way much to the jounin's amusement. They reached a food store and Kakashi told him to wait outside before entering the establishment.

Iruka stood outside with their back packs; he still couldn't take his eyes from the busy street and its colourful decorations. He noticed a troop of people at the other side of the road wearing odd-fashioned clothes and their faces painted making their way here. With them were cages of wild animals decorated in vibrant colours; the elephants were used to pull them. Inside it were tigers, bears, and lions. It was called the circus; he had seen it once in a book in Takeshi's house.

The parade moved leisurely on the street, people wearing the weird getup performed as they walked beside their caravans. They flipped backwards and jumped over and threw confetti in the air. On the top of one of the cages, a small monkey wearing a colourful vest was putting a show; bobbing its head to the music, somersaulting and throwing some confetti around. Children were laughing merrily as they followed the march. Wanting to look at the animals a little closer, Iruka walked towards the moving cages, leaving their back packs at the store's entrance.

The animals were magnificent when seen up close. It was nothing compared to the book. Iruka was in awe over their forms and sizes. He followed them not having his fill yet and bit by bit the excited brunet wandered far from the food store. Once he had had enough, Iruka stopped and turned around, intending to head back to the food store only to realize that he didn't recognize the road he was standing on.

He tried to go back to the way he came from, but at the third turn, Iruka was at a loss of where he should go next. He could still hear the parade's music a few streets away. The street he was standing on however was quiet and unkempt; the stores around him were closed and looked run down. Kakashi would be mad if he found out that the younger man had strayed away from him. Fortunately, he remembered the name of the store so asking people would be the best course of action.

The man Iruka tried to approach was wearing an old hakama and torn pants. His appearance sent warning signals to his head, but there was no one else except for that man. He looked at the tan brunet up and down and smirk formed on his face, showing too many yellow teeth.

"Uhm, Excuse me mister. I was kind of lost. Could you point me to the Gohan food store?" Iruka asked timidly.

"Sure pal. Just follow me." He turned and went further down into the alley and Iruka had no choice but to follow him.

A few minutes and many turns had passed. Surely he didn't wander too far off, but there were no signs or landmarks indicating that they were near. "Mister, are you sure this is the right way?" Iruka asked hesitantly.

"It's a short cut. Been living here for thirty years." The man answered.

Iruka had a bad feeling about this, but he quelled his fear even as the alley got darker ahead of them. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the man being joined by other people like him. Brown eyes widened in alarm and the brunet quickly turned around to escape the alley, however it was too late as more people appeared, blocking the entrance. Like a cornered rat, he was surrounded.

"Mister?"

"Give us your money, pal. And we'll let you out of here alive." The man threatened menacingly. He took a step forward than the rest, pressing him against the dirty wall.

Iruka wished for Kakashi to be here. "I don't have any money."

"It's not wise to lie to us. Just hand us over anything on you." His left hand snapped out a knife and Iruka gasped at the glint of the sharp blade; _Bad people_.

Instinctively, Iruka heard someone lunging at him and he twisted around evading the collision. Automatically everyone started to gang up on him, swinging their knives and nailed wood planks.

As if the moves were ingrained in him, Iruka danced gracefully avoiding and deflecting all the attacks on him but he didn't initiated any attacks of his own. His attackers had become frustrated and tired from missing their hits but were not deterred. His luck ran out as a stray knife was thrown at him, wounding his shoulder. Iruka lost his balance. He fell on the ground, holding his injured arm and looked up as he was shadowed by the street bandits.

The earlier man who was still panting from exertion looked at him with contempt and sneered. "We almost thought you were a ninja. You shouldn't have attacked us, pal. Now you're going to pay." He grabbed a knife from one of the group and lunged at him. Before the blade could even touch him, the man was suddenly thrown back landing in a heap on the ground. Foam mixed with blood escaped from his mouth.

Feet landed lightly beside him and Iruka raised his head at the shadowed figure hunching lazily with his hand clutching their bag packs. There was no evidence that he was the cause of the thug's injury. But his hard lone eye hinted clear warning that the group would meet with the similar fate if they were so much as stepping forward.

"Kakashi." Never had Iruka felt so relieved at seeing the silver haired ninja. He begun to feel the pain on his shoulder and tears finally welled in his eyes, but he refused to cry.

"Are you okay?" Once the gang had run away, Kakashi crouched down to his eye level and touched the wound only to pull away when the brunet winced in pain. He took out a gauze of bandages and pressed them over the wound.

"We have to disinfect the wound. Let's find a place to stay for the night." Too shaken up to answer properly, Iruka nodded his head and got to his feet, all the while pressing on his wound.

****

"I'm sorry." They had luckily found a room for two at a local inn. Iruka was sitting on the tatami mat with his knees drawn to his chest mindful of his neatly bandaged arm. He looked at Kakashi with apologetically. "I didn't mean to disobey to your instruction."

"Don't worry about it, Iruka. I'm just glad you're safe." Kakashi assured the brunet. He hated seeing the gloom in those brown eyes. It wasn't Iruka's fault; if Kakashi wanted to point the blame, it would be his. The silver haired man had heard the circus was coming to the city from the sales assistant in the store. He also noticed the parade marching in the front street and yet Kakashi expected Iruka to stay put and wait for him. He had forgotten that Iruka wasn't the person Kakashi had always known.

The silver haired man almost had a heart attack when he didn't see Iruka waiting for him at the front door of the store. He had tracked the brunet from his barely visible track and followed the trail that lead to a back alley and found an injured Iruka being cornered against the wall by a group of street muggers. Red clouded his vision when one of those bastards started running towards the brunet with a knife. When he had come to himself, the man was lying unconscious on the ground.

"Say…there's a circus tonight. Now that we're here, let's take this opportunity to see them?" Kakashi internally chuckled at the look of excitement painted on the tan face. His mood changed dramatically, from depressing to happiness.

****

Iruka was sure that this was his first time going to the circus. It was open to visitors as soon as the sun had set in the wide field at the edge of the city and many people were present. Fluorescent lights and loud music filled the crowded place. There were booths surrounding the area selling foods and games to the visitors. Kakashi almost regretted bringing Iruka here as the brunet had endless energy scurrying from one performer to the other; ooh-ing and aah-ing all the time.

They watched a pair of flame eaters in one of the tents, Iruka gaped in amazement when one of them swallowed the fire whole. Next, they went to see the acrobatics performance. The acrobats in glittering clothes were jumping from swing to swing. For some reason, Iruka stayed away from the clowns much to Kakashi's amusement. The brunet paled considerably when a woman clown hugged him. But what had Iruka's attention the most were the animal performances. They were fortunate that Kakashi had managed to get the front seat in the tent so he could keep an eye on the tan man standing behind the bar cheering them on with other children.

Once it ended, Iruka left the tent with a satisfied smile on his face. He chatted animatedly about the performances they had seen earlier, Kakashi nodding in agreement, not really hearing the brunet's tales as they made their way to the food stall to have their supper since they hadn't had dinner before coming here. He bought the man a festival mask and cotton candy during their tour around the circus.

They returned to the inn late at night. The silver haired jounin had to force Iruka to brush his teeth before he was allowed to go to bed. He kept guard while the brunet snored in his sleep and wondered what were his former students would be doing this late of a time. If they departed early in the morning with their pace now, they might reach Konoha's main gate by sun down.

****

Iruka was quite reluctant to leave the city as he dragged his feet to follow Kakashi. The older man said that they might reach Konoha by evening and he promised to treat him 'ramen' when they get there. They reverted back to the 'Are we there, yet?' game that somehow switched to the 'I spy' game at some point of their journey, however it was short lived when all they could spy was 'something green and small'. The pair met a group of travelling merchants heading the same way they did. Iruka conversed with one of them and had learned that they were from the land of Wind bringing in goods like goat skin, dried fruits and ornaments made by the nomads. Since it was boring to travel just the two of them, Kakashi decided to join them as fellow travellers. It would be faster too since the caravan had horse carts with them, they did not have to stop so frequently.

Thanks to the merchants, Iruka and Kakashi arrived earlier than they planned; while the sun was still high in the sky. Iruka waved good bye to the group and they left for the gate post designated for shinobi use. A huge gate greeted them as the travelling duo reached Konoha. The roof was supported by thick pillars; Iruka had to crane his neck to see the top. Suddenly Iruka felt intimidated. He was not sure if he should go in or not.

"What's wrong?" Iruka looked up in surprise at question. His brown eyes were wide, expressing fear; as if he was about to enter a prison. His feet moved without his command as Iruka fled from the gate. He ignored the shout calling for his name as he entered the thick jungle surrounding the village.

* * *

Next chapter: A meeting with the Rokudaime and some new faces

A/n: I want to ask for opinions from you guys, two actually:-

1) Once Naruto manga is over, meaning Madara is defeated and Sasuke comes back, yada yada. Unless Kishimoto wants to bring out new villain for Naruto. Will Naruto still have the Kyuubi inside him?

2) Do you think Iruka has summons (or do you want him to have one)? If you do, what kind of familiar would suit him? And please don't say dolphin. ^^;

3) Would you leave me some reviews?


	8. Chapter 7 Catching Up with the Past

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

First of, I'm so sorry for the late update. My beta was busy with her studies and I don't want to pester her, much. XD

Great thanks to my beta, Lost Highway for her great work of editing this piece; any other mistakes were my own. And thank you so much for all the reviewers who took the time to answer my questions. Your inputs had helped me a lot in finding the direction of this little story.

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Kakashi watched as Iruka disappeared into the jungle, ignoring his call. They were within the Konoha borders now, so Kakashi wasn't too worry about the other's being attacked and it would be no problem for him to track the brunet either. He'd just have to find the man before he reached the borders. The silver haired nin stood in his spot waiting for the younger man time to calm himself before going and searching for him.

"Yo, Kakashi. You're late, even by your standard. The Rokudaime was getting worried. We thought you were rotting somewhere." Kotetsu as always, flanked by his usual partner Izumo leaned against the gate entrance that they were guarding.

"Glad to be home too, you guys." Kakashi didn't look away from the spot where Iruka had vacated earlier. He was bidding his time.

"Who were you calling to just now?" The spiky haired chuunin looked over his shoulder curiously to where Kakashi was looking. Way intruding his personal space.

"You'll know soon enough. I have to go." Kakashi left his belongings with them and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

****

Iruka was by the river bed with his bag pack next to him by the time Kakashi found him. The brunet bent over the water surface looking at his own reflection before throwing a pebble at it, causing a ripple and disrupting the flow. He sat back, planted his feet on the grass, rested his arms on his knees and hid his face in them when he heard Kakashi settling down beside him.

"Say, I was looking for a lost kitten. Have you by any chance had seen him? I could've sworn he went this way."

Iruka refused to lift his face and Kakashi sighed at the lack of response. "Do you want to talk about it?" Kakashi asked gently

"I can't find my way back." Iruka mumbled into his arms.

"To Miho-baa? Won't you return with me to Konoha?" Kakashi pressed gently. It was too late by now. Even if Iruka managed to find his way back to the old couple, sooner than he could think, someone -foe or ally- would definitely come for him, by force if they had to. Iruka hadn't realised it yet but he was someone important in Konoha. Memory loss or not, he was still a shinobi of Konoha and defecting Konoha was punishable by death. Kakashi would stop that from happening.

"I don't know anyone in Konoha. I don't know if they'll like me there? Would they hate me because I'm different from whom they used to know? When I think about it, I don't think I should return here. At least, Miho-baa and Kiyo-ji wouldn't judge me."

"Maa, we won't find out if you stay here, would we? But I want you to know, there's at least one person who wouldn't think differently of you."

"Who?" Iruka looked up at him in surprise. He never imagined that there was such a person living in Konoha.

"You're looking right at him." Kakashi grinned at the wide brown eyes and the dropping jaw. His lone eye crinkled in assurance. "I won't leave you alone, Iruka. Promise. So, you think you are a little bit braver now?" He couldn't help but teased the younger man.

"Am not afraid." Iruka said indignantly. His mouth pursed into a pout. Iruka turned his flushed face away and picked up his bag. When he turned back, his confident grin adorned back on his face. "Let's go home, Kakashi."

****

Kotetsu and Izumo were still waiting for them by the gate with Kakashi's belongings at their feet. When they got near enough within the gate watchers' sights, Kakashi picked up his pack ignoring their stunned faces. Their wide eyes never left the newcomer, looking at him up and down. Iruka felt a little nervous, subtly shielding himself behind the silver haired jounin. His shoulder hunched by making himself as small as possible. He looked at the new people with uncertainty.

"Iruka, these are Kotetsu and Izumo." Kakashi introduced them, unconcerned of being used as a human shield for Iruka. His lone eye warned them not to do anything that would scare off the man behind him.

"Hello." Iruka greeted shyly. Out of habit, he rubbed his scar across his nose in nervousness.

"Iruka. You're…" Izumo was the first to break their silence while Kotetsu was still gaping like a goldfish. He took pity of his friend and elbowed him in the gut. The spiky haired chuunin held his stomach as he wheezed. He didn't know if he should feel mad or thankful. He was confused right now.

Since both of them were not helping, Kakashi decided to explain for them. "Iruka, they are your friends. You used to hang out with them during your mission room shift together."

"Oh." Iruka said, not understanding what Kakashi was talking about. He looked at them; the taller one had straight long dark hair covering his right eye. His hitae-ate was tied like a makeshift bandana on his head and he was wearing a uniform like the one Kakashi wore when Iruka had found him, except this one was in different colour. His spiky haired partner, the one who had been gaping at him a moment ago wore the same clothes but there was a piece of cloth tied over the bridge oh his nose. No matter how much he raked his brain for memories, none had graced him. Guiltily he averted his eyes and stepped further behind Kakashi. "I don't remember. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Kakashi hoisted up his backpack and started to enter the village gate. "You'll have plenty of time here. It'll come to you sooner or later." Without looking back at them, Kakashi walked towards the huge gate with the brunet in tow. Iruka quickly fell in step with Kakashi. But not before he waved bashfully at the silent gate watchers behind them.

****

Kakashi was relieved once they passed the gate with no incident and so far their trek towards the Hokage Tower had not encountered any unwanted trouble. It had been almost two years since Iruka had been proclaimed dead. Most people would have already forgotten about the academy teacher. Only his name and his contribution towards Konoha were remembered. The civilians didn't stop them as the rumour had not spread around yet. It could also been because of the fact that he didn't wear his shinobi uniform. Though whatever it was Kakashi hoped it would stay that way until they reached the Hokage's office.

"Will I be able to do that?" Iruka asked in wonder. His brown orbs were bright with excitement. He let his himself be dragged by Kakashi as he looked up at the rooftops trying to catch a glimpse of shinobi who used the rooftops as their travelling route. To the passer-biers, the scene would have looked comical had Kakashi been using the main road.

"Yes, and much more." Really the man was like a child, making a big deal out of small things. Of course for a shinobi, being able to jump across the rooftops was not a big deal. Even an academy student could do that.

They reached the Hokage Tower safely. After a couple of knocks and permission to enter, Kakashi was standing inside the office. The jounin had Iruka waiting for him outside with an order to 'stay put and don't going anywhere, please.'

He found the Rokudaime alone in his office. No sight of his assistant anywhere as they usually were glued to the hips. The sun-kissed head was bent over the paperwork on his desk as he was busy writing on the yellowish parchment. Not a common sight for the usually bouncy young man.

"Maa, you're busy, I see. Should I come by later?" Kakashi drawled lazily. The blond spiky hair snapped up in surprise and a pair of blue eyes looked up at Kakashi, relief filled those sky colour orbs.

"Kakashi sensei. I'm glad you're safe." His frowning face was now relaxed and a large smile was now donned on his lips.

"Sorry I'm late. I found a treasure chest on my way back and had to take a detour to find its owner." Kakashi replied with an upturned-U on his lone eye.

Naruto merely rolled his eyes at the excuse. He was used to it by now and had almost expected it. "Liar. If it's not for the letter you sent, I would've sent someone over to pick you up. Sakura-chan was worried sick and I was about to send a search party before I left."

"Maa, I'm still at my peak you know. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Humph. I like to see you said that in front of Sakura-chan." Naruto inwardly smirked at the widening eye of his former sensei. Sakura's temper was a well known fact in Konoha. Her sadistic tendency towards her patients, especially her shinobi patients was not to be doubted. She'd mend your bones and crushed them back in her anger fit and then apologetically mend them again. Kakashi and Naruto had been her victims for too many times.

Kakashi sweated in nervousness. Splendid medic-nin aside, his former single female student's temper was worse then her shishou. "Let's just keep this between us men, shall we? Anyway I'd like you to meet someone." Kakashi opened the door and peeked outside only to find the corridor empty. "That's strange. Where did he go?"

"Huh, who are you talking about?" No sooner that the question was asked, they got their answer in the sound of loud yelp followed by a loud crash from the office corridor.

Naruto watched his former teacher disappeared behind the door. He recognised one of the voices as they apologised profusely at each other. His assistant had returned -meaning more paperwork for him- and had obviously run into with someone, again. He reluctantly followed Kakashi with a much slower pace towards the sound of those voices.

For a moment, the blond Hokage wondered what kind of a ninja his klutz assistant was. How he graduated from the academy was beyond him. Not a day would pass by without the late teen making a fool out of himself due of his clumsiness. He knew from experience that his assistant's clumsiness was not for a show as they had team up once before Naruto became a Hokage; on a mission, he was deadly and efficient. It was just that people who never knew him in his mission mode tended to underestimate him. The teen was like two different people, or one person with split personality. It was as if he was more suited to the field job rather than in the office and dealing with paperwork. Naruto wondered why Tsunade would assign the younger man as his assistant.

Yukimura Yoshi; the ninja was young three years younger than him, yet had already entered the jounin rank and was entrusted to become his assistant-slash-bodyguard. He had a short, sleek black hair combed neatly to the back, simple ninja garb on his petite, lean frame and hands that would insistently pushing his eyeglasses up.

The blond turned to a corner and saw a male brunet bent over the floor, picking up the scattered papers –_his paperwork_, Naruto thought mournfully- together with Yoshi. Kakashi was also helping them so the man must be the person Kakashi had wanted him to meet. The brunet had his back on him so he couldn't look properly at his face. He didn't sense any malice or threats from him. It meant that whoever was with Kakashi was deemed safe and his presence was too ingrained into his instinct for him to recognise it as a stranger.

How strange, there were not many people that could be that kind of person to him. He could count them with one hand and most of them had already left the living world unless...

Naruto watched with trepidation as the man slowly stood up from his crouching position and turned around, facing him. Naruto now had a clear view of the man. He had tan skin, his hair was short but the dark brown colour was unmistakable. The same height, the same scent (he remembered even if it was almost two years ago) the same warm brown eyes-now looking at him nervously, the same scar across his nose.

"Iruka sensei?" Naruto stare in disbelief. Receiving a nod of confirmation from Kakashi, he went to the man, trying to hold him, to hug him, to shake him for leaving without a word, to do anything and everything but the warning look from the silver haired jounin prevented him from doing any of the above.

The man lifted his face and looked at Naruto. It must have been something that he did, or didn't do for the brunet quickly hid behind Kakashi's back, peering over his shield's shoulder. Somehow Naruto felt his heart constricted in his chest painfully. Iruka sensei was the last person he would ever expect to look at him with apprehension. Next to him, Yoshi looked between his leader and the newcomers in bewilderment. He knew them, Kakashi-san and was that Iruka sensei? But somehow the tan man's attitude was different.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you." Iruka looked at Yoshi from the silver haired man's shoulder. He apologised to the young teen for the nth times since they bumped into each other.

Yoshi quickly bowed, as much as he could manage with a stack of papers in his hands. "Oh, no. The fault is mine, sir. I wasn't looking where I was going."

Naruto was still looking at Kakashi, silently asking for explanation. He knew that the man behind Kakashi was Iruka sensei but why didn't he acted like the Iruka sensei Naruto once knew? His assistant stood awkwardly between two sides, afraid of ruining the moment.

"It's a long story, Naruto." Kakashi reverted back to formal report with his village leader once they were back inside his office. He brought the brunet to a couch in the office and asked him to sit down while he gave his report to Naruto. His assistant, understanding the heaviness of the situation had gone out in excuse to get tea for their guest.

****

The feeling of dread came back. Iruka felt not for the last time that he had made a bad decision coming to Konoha. Everyone he met had seemed angry at him. The brunet wondered if he was a bad person before the memory loss. The Hokage, Kakashi had called the man whose age was younger than him, had looked at him with fierce intensity the first time they had met.

Every once in a while the Hokage would look at his direction causing Iruka to sit straighter in attention. Iruka was confused. Why did the blond's brows furrow so and why did he have a gloomy face for a man so young? He watched as the leader's face changed from surprise to sadness and then a half hearted relieve.

Iruka shifted his attention around the office while he waited. It was a large room filled with stacks of scrolls and books. On one of the walls, there were five photo frames with the nametag under each one of them. Their faces resembled the faces Iruka had seen on the 'Hokage Mountain'. Kakashi had told him when he asked, that those were the faces of all the Hokage that had protected Konoha. And the current one is Uzumaki Naruto. But because Naruto hadn't had his inaugural yet, his face was not among them.

After Kakashi had finished with his report, the Copy Nin went back to Iruka and the brunet quickly latched back onto his sleeve. For now, Kakashi was the only person Iruka knew in Konoha. He would be lost in this village without the older man.

"Iruka, we're going to see someone who can help you." Kakashi said to the brunet.

Naruto had already gone to the door and opened it; only to have a pile of shinobi stumbled on his doorway. Seriously, as an elite shinobi they needed to learn to be more tactful when spying. Some of them had a decency to be ashamed for being caught but others stood back while trying to peer not so discreetly inside the Hokage's office.

The news sure travelled fast, the whole Konoha must have been hearing about it right now, even towards the civilian district. As Kakashi mused, he could see a range of shinobi hanging outside; from jounin to genin. Kakashi had recognised most of them, had worked with some of them and all of them had come to see if the news about Umino Iruka was true.

"Leave me alone! Don't you have missions to complete?" A loud voice bellowed from the hallway and Naruto sweat dropped at his assistant behaviour. He could see the young man in the middle of the crowd, being pestered by them. In his hands was a tray of the now cold tea. A hand slung over his shoulder was preventing him from moving.

"Don't be so stiff, Yoshi-chan. We came all the way here when we heard that our assumed dead friend is actually alive." The owner of said hand was wearing his hitae-ae backwards covering his light brown hair. There was a long needle dangling from his lips and it moved whenever the man was talking.

Yoshi quickly shrugged off the arm with his shoulder and shouted at him. "We're not close enough to be on the first name basis. That's Yukimura to you, Shiranui-san! And I already know." Yoshi clenched the tray tightly undecided whether to hurl the tea at the older man's smug face.

"Iruka sensei was it? I already met him just now. He taught me Seal subject when I was in my last year in the academy." There was a proud boyish tone in his voice when he talked about the former academy teacher.

"You're cute Yoshi-chan." The man teased followed by the others' laughter. "Anyway, nice to see you're still alive, Kakashi." Genma ignored the young assistant's sputtering at the back and focused on the other occupant inside the Hokage office.

"Maa, I'm not easy to be rid off you know." Kakashi countered lazily. He knew not to take it as offence among his peers.

"Hokage-sama." Hoshi gasped in surprise, having to have his immature attitude be seen by his respected leader. The young man bowed respectfully to Naruto and put a blinding smile on his previously frowned lips. "Forgive my insolence Hokage-sama. I will- Ah. The tea! Don't worry Hokage-sama I'll bring a new one soon!" He quickly turned towards the kitchenette but had tripped on his own foot causing the tea on the tray to spill on the floor and the cups broken from the impact. Naruto flinched at the crash and watched the look of horror on his assistant's face while everyone was laughing at his goofiness.

Iruka left their banter unheard as he surveyed the array of ninjas in front of him. None of them seemed familiar to him and he felt unnerved by the level of their stares. Their Hokage was the same, giving him looks that he wasn't able to comprehend. He wanted so much to be out of there.

Kakashi understanding his distress pull himself away from the conversation and looped his arm around the other's. "Anyway, we are running late if I want to take Iruka to see Tsunade-sama. So if you'll excuse us. I'll be seeing you there, Naruto." Kakashi gave his leader a salute and a teleportation jutsu later, he and Iruka disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

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Next chapter: Doctor's appointment

A/N: I've decided to look for a second beta-reader. So if you would like to help me and Lost Highway to speed up the updates, please kindly send me a pm and I'll send you my e-mail address and further details. XD


	9. Chapter 8 The Slug Princess

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

This chapter was beta-ed by my second beta reader Jazzy2May. XD As usual any other mistakes were my own so great thanks for the work Jazzy. And thank you so much for the reviews I received from my last chapter. It motivates me a lot. XD

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When Iruka opened his eyes, the scenery around them had changed. The brunet was standing in front of a white building and not in the tower anymore. He looked around confused before turning to look at the person beside him in wonder.

"How did you do that?" asked Iruka. There was a hint of awe in Iruka's voice and Kakashi scratched his head in embarrassment. He would never have received any kind of reverence for just a simple jutsu if Iruka sensei still has his memory.

Quickly changing the subject, Kakashi instead directed. "Maa, Come on. Let's go see the doctor." The silver haired man went ahead of Iruka towards the building.

"Doctor?" Iruka asked nervously. His wide brown eyes darted around again until he confirmed that the building in front of him was a Hospital. He took a step back anxiously. "Why would I want to see a doctor? I'm not sick."

In his mind Iruka pictured what the doctor that would be examining him look like, unconsciously muttering aloud. The doctor would be wearing a white robe covering his whole body and a hygiene mask to hide his face, a pair of thick glasses to obscure his evil eyes and white scrubs hiding the horns on his head. His latex-gloved hands would hold a drill in one and a scalpel in the other. Iruka shuddered visibly.

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh at the description and he chuckled even more when seeing the childish pout on the brunet's lips. He assured the man that Konoha medic nins were not like how he portrayed them, but Iruka wasn't convinced. Reluctantly Iruka followed the silver haired man inside, since the man himself needed to go for a check up as well. Iruka suspected that it was just a ruse to lure him inside unaware.

Kakashi knew where he was going as he headed straight for Tsunade-sama's office. Without bothering to knock or waiting for permission to enter, Kakashi turned the knob and waited for the brunet to go in first before closing the door behind them.

"You sure took your time coming here, brat." Their former Hokage sat behind her desk looking through some scrolls. Beside her was a woman who looked to be Iruka's age and at her feet was a fat pig wearing a pearl necklace and a simple outfit, snoring peacefully.

"I was going to return sooner, but I saw this bright shooting star and I just had to find out where it fell." Kakashi put his hands into his pockets and slouched lazily. His eye formed the famous U-shape crescent.

Iruka looked at the women occupying the room; the one seated behind the desk had his attention the most. If she was going to be his doctor, it was far different from his imaginary doctor. Her skin was fair and smooth with no blemish to be found. Her long blonde hair was tied in two low hung pony tails at the nape of her neck. Her bangs framed an oval face and there was a diamond mark at the centre of her forehead. She looked similar to one of the faces of the Hokage on the mountain above Konoha.

Her dress under the white robe couldn't completely cover her voluminous breasts and Iruka could see her cleavage. Iruka blushed at her beauty. He had never seen anyone so beautiful before. He pulled at Kakashi's sleeve insistently trying to whisper into his ear. "Kakashi, she's beautiful."

It was meant to be for Kakashi's ears only, but he wondered if he said it too loud as long lashes lifted, revealing a pair of honeyed brown eyes. The captivating orbs focused on him and Iruka couldn't help but blush deeper.

"Don't let her appearance deceive you, Iruka. In truth, she is an ol-." Kakashi was cut off from finishing his sentence as a thick scroll hit his head. The force of impact made him take a few steps back. Iruka blinked owlishly, head swivelling between the pretty doctor and Kakashi. In the background, her assistant smiled at Iruka, unperturbed by the event.

Of course, Tsunade heard him. Iruka wasn't being as discreet as he should be when around ninja. She smiled slyly as if she hadn't heard Kakashi. "Why, Iruka. I'm glad to see you haven't lost your charm." She chuckled lightly and waved the brunet closer, Kakashi temporarily forgotten.

"Come here, Iruka. Don't hide behind Kakashi. You're a man. Don't be so shy." Her smile widened when she saw Iruka step away from the jounin and half-heartedly took a step forward.

They went to the examination table in the room and Iruka was asked to lie there while Tsunade checked his physical. His nervousness returned as the brunet was prodded and touched by the warm hands. Once it was over the blonde doctor stepped back and wrote something on a clipboard while instructing her assistant. "Shizune, take Iruka to the examination room. I want you to run a full body check up on him."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." The brunette bowed before opening the door and motioned for Iruka to follow her.

The prospect of having Kakashi out of his sight in this unknown village scared him. He looked pleadingly to Kakashi, silently asking for him to come with him.

Kakashi just smiled at him and gently pushed the man towards the door. "Just follow Shizune-san, Iruka. I'll be here waiting for you. Promise."

After a hesitant nod, Iruka followed her and vanished behind the closed door.

The mood drastically changed once the two were alone, sans Tonton. Their demeanour turned serious as Kakashi straightened his posture in attention while Tsunade put her elbows on the desk and covered her mouth with her interlaced fingers; thinking and waiting. A few moments later Naruto entered the room.

"How was he?" The blond youth asked his mentor as soon as he closed the door behind him. Naruto had grown since the last time he saw Iruka. His body had filled up with hard muscles underneath his clothes. Gone was his baby fat as his face had become angular. He looked just like his father, the village's heart throb in his time. Though this time his sky blue eyes were clouded with worry and his broad frame tensed.

"It's too soon to tell. But why didn't you come in earlier?" Tsunade could feel the young blond's presence behind her door even before Kakashi and Iruka entered her office but the man didn't show up until after Iruka left.

"He didn't even recognise me." Naruto explained dejectedly. His head bowed hiding his emotion. "I felt that he was afraid of me at some point. Do you think that maybe he hat-." A second scroll hit Naruto's head, hard, but the blond didn't stagger backward from the strong blow.

"What was that for Tsunade baa-chan?" Naruto rubbed the spot on his head, already feeling the formation of swelling there. His blue eyes glimmered with unshed tears of pain.

"It's a cure for your moronic brain. And don't call me Baa-chan." Tsunade crossed her arms and harrumphed at him. "Idiot. Of course he didn't recognise you, he lost his memories."

"Don't worry Naruto, he'll come around soon enough." Kakashi patted the young man's back in encouragement. His eye crinkled in reply to Naruto's small smile.

"Anyway, that aside, this is an unexpected outcome. One that is sure to be in our favour." Tsunade said grimly. The mood turned heavy again as both men focused on the seated woman.

"The Wakizashi incident?" Naruto guessed dreadfully.

"Yes, I believe Iruka could be the key to unfolding the secret and we can flush those Wakizashi rats with his help." The blonde sannin leaned forward behind her desk, judging the men's reactions in front of her.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, hastily protesting, "No, I don't want Iruka sensei to be in danger." He didn't like the idea of putting Iruka sensei in harm's way. They had just met up again after two whole long years of separation, and the man wasn't well. The thought of losing him again scared Naruto more then ever.

Kakashi and Tsunade understood Naruto's fear, but there was nothing they could do against it. "It's too late, Naruto." The former Hokage explained. "The rumours have already spread around by now. Iruka sensei was a famous man, more so, since he was involved directly or indirectly with the incident. The enemy will definitely plan their moves based on this information. That's why we need to make our own moves too, and fast."

"It was my mistake, Naruto, Tsunade-sama." Apologized Kakashi.

"No. They would have found out sooner or later. It's a good thing you found him first, Kakashi. We now have the upper hand." Tsunade smirked and watched in amusement as it brought shivers to the two men.

"Then, I would-." Their discussion stopped abruptly as a knock was heard from the door. Yukimura Yoshi bowed as soon as he entered the office.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, Tsunade-sama. But I was wondering if Hokage-sama was-Hokage-sama!" He stopped talking when he saw the person he was looking for.

"Hokage-sama. You don't have time to chat now. You have to prepare yourself for the meeting at the summit! We have to depart now or you won't make it to the meeting." Yoshi pushed the rim of his glasses nervously, torn between waiting for the Rokudaime to move and pushing the leader himself out the door and all the way to the summit. His hands clenched and unclenched by his sides in indecision and anxiety.

"Already?" Naruto asked petulantly. His sensei had just returned and he longed to stay here and protect him. But he knew that the meeting was too important for him to miss and it was too late to postpone the date.

"There's no time to waste, brat!" Tsunade was well aware of the duties of being Hokage. "Leave now. Don't worry, I'll handle everything." Insisted Tsunade, waving them away.

He was about to open his mouth to protest but thought better of it. He didn't want to vex Tsunade or trouble Yoshi. With a heavy heart, Naruto nodded his head and turned to follow his young assistant out the door. "Please take care of Iruka sensei, Kakashi sensei. Right now, you're the only one he trusts."

Naruto left the room a little bit comforted after Kakashi had promised him that he would protect the ex-sensei until Naruto returned. The jounin wished Naruto luck and to focus on his meeting without worries.

They were alone once again in the room. Tonton's soft snoring was still audible in the room and Tsunade faced the Copy Nin. "Now that one part has settled. Come here brat. It's your turn for the check up. Take off your clothes."

His least favourite part in the hospital and Kakashi couldn't evade it fast enough. "I'm fine Tsunade-sama. The old couple took care of me well."

It seemed that his excuse was not satisfying enough as the blonde woman gave him a look between "don't try to bull me' and 'if you're not lying on the bed in one-point-five seconds, I'm going to pull your ear and make you to' look.

Feeling dread for his future and his ears Kakashi took off his shirt, leaving him only in his pants and mask. He then sat down on the bed that Iruka had earlier occupied. The veteran healer began to inspect his raw scars. Her green glowing hands hovered over them knitting flesh more securely together leaving smooth surface in its wake.

"Any broken bones? No? What about your head? Any discomfort?" The questions continued as Tsunade concentrated on the patient in front of her while Kakashi dutifully answered each one in his usual drawl tones. Once the examination was done, Kakashi was allowed to put his clothes back on and settled back into the chair sitting across the big desk from her. The two of them took further time to discuss what they would do about Iruka.

"It's better if he has Anbu guards looking after him." suggested Kakashi.

"You're right. I'll arrange to that right away. Now that Naruto's gone I'll be resuming Hokage duty until the boy returns. Now where to put Iruka-sensei? I doubt his apartment is available right now but what about yours? Do you think your apartment's fit for two? I could arrange for a temporary one if it's not."

"Maa, Tsunade-sama, you can't be saying that I'd have to take care of Iruka?"

"Well. You can't be saying that he has to live alone with the state he's in now, there's no way he could live on his own." Tsunade countered smoothly.

"Have one of his friends do it."

"Kakashi, I'm sure anyone would be happy to take care of him, but right now he only knows you. He would be comfortable living with you. I for one only trust you and Naruto would expect you to do it." She knew she had won the argument, judging by the look of resignation from the man's eye.

Kakashi couldn't refute her logic. It's true that he was the perfect person to take care of Iruka as well as to guard him. With a sigh Kakashi agreed to the proposal. "Alright, but my apartment won't be able to fit the both of us."

"Don't worry, I've got it covered. Besides its better if he stays near the village centre, near the Hokage Tower would be best. The security is tight there and there are many shinobi around to look out for things."

"There would also be many chances for the assailants." countered Kakashi soberly.

"It's a risk we must take. As long as Iruka stays protected, the enemy won't dare to attack openly."

"I understand. Godaime."

Not a moment later, Shizune was back with Iruka in tow. The brunet sat in the chair next to Kakashi with a tired sigh. When asked what was wrong, He told them about the various tests he had to undergo and about the people he had met in the hospital, including a pink haired ninja girl who had hugged him too tightly, almost breaking his spine. The pink medic had cried while calling him, Iruka sensei. There were also a few nurses fighting to be the one to assist Shizune. His tone was disturbed and confused. In the end Iruka heaved another sigh, and slumped in his chair, worn out. It had all been very exhausting for him.

"I still have some arrangements to do. Kakashi why don't you show Iruka here around the village? Have some early dinner. He must be pretty hungry right now."

The suggestion was just what they had needed. After all, Kakashi did promise to treat Iruka to ramen when they had reached here earlier.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Agreed Kakashi, smoothly rising to his feet followed shortly after by the tired Iruka. Together they exited the office leaving their luggage behind them.

****

The sun had already set when they reached the Ichiraku Ramen. Fortunately for them, the stand was empty so they could eat without interruption. Teuchi, the ramen stand's owner had aged well. He was thinner and his back had hunched due to old age. Nowadays the stand was managed by his daughter and her husband though he did come by once in a while to help out now that Ayame was expecting her first child.

"I heard the rumour, but I almost can't believe it. That my long time customer is at long last home and came here to this old stomping grounds to eat my ramen." Teuchi wiped his tears with his sleeve. He offered to serve them after their orders were taken; it felt strangely nostalgic.

Iruka looked around in silence. His eyes took in the surroundings, the ramen stand and the owner. When a bowl of ramen was put in front of him, Iruka looked up at the stand owner and thanked him. He didn't notice the old man giving him a sad smile before returning to his work. Iruka snapped his chopsticks in two and started digging in. Kakashi watched the brunet, noticing the tiredness in his movements as he ate. Then his eyes widened comically at the first bite.

"This is delicious, Oji-san." Iruka praised as he slurped his noodles more fervently.

"That's good to hear." Teuchi chuckled. "You've always liked my ramen ever since you were a boy, Iruka sensei." The old man said fondly.

****

The night had progressed as the moon shifted her position. All the village's dwellers had already retired for the night, sans the guards on duty. A couple of drunkards were seen staggering in their walk as they supported each other. Their hands each held a bottle of sake and they sang some drunken song loudly while ignoring angry shouts from the apartment buildings.

Once they were sure that they were not watched, both dropped their act and slipped silently into an unused building. It was an old civilian apartment building that had survived the war. But due to its poor condition, it was not safe to live in anymore. Old furniture was left unclaimed, cracks covering the dirty white wall and some rooms missing their doors. There was a plan of taking down this building, but no action had been taken as of yet.

In the apartment house, in a specific room, a shadow of a man sat on a battered couch. He was expecting the newcomers and their news.

"Well?" The man asked impatiently.

"We saw it for ourselves. It was true." The first man clarified. He was the shorter of the two.

"It's him alright. The chuunin named Umino Iruka. He was supposed to be dead on that mission."

The second man continued. "There was also a rumour; he had lost his memory. The man has no recollection of being a shinobi much less being on that mission." Relief was evident in his tone.

"We are safe for now. But we must proceed with caution. The Hokage's guards must have made a connection by now. As long as he doesn't remember, no harm will fall upon us however time is running short on our side. I'm sure our enemies are trying to use everything at their disposal to cure him as we speak."

"Then, what should we do? Are we going to wait? Again?" The taller man asked heatedly. "All we have to do is kill the chuunin before he remembers. I'm sick of waiting any longer."

"We will wait. For as long as the Leader told us to wait, we will! I won't let your impatience be the downfall of our two years of efforts." The seated man's voice turned harsher and caused them to flinch. "I will bring this news to the Leader. Until then, both of you had better be on your best behaviour, we can't afford any more screw ups." He stood up revealing his size, taller and bulkier than them both. Without any flashes of hand signs, the man vanished without a single trace.

* * *

Translation note:-

Wakizashi: A short blade that accompanies the samurai sword. One of its uses is to commit sepuku. (I know. Original huh?)

Next chapter: Getting to know Konoha.

A/n: I ran out of tittle for this chapter.


	10. Chapter 9 Rekindled Memories

**Disclaimer: If you recognized any of those characters, then they belonged to Kishimoto Masashi. If not, they're mine. XD**

This chapter was beta-ed for you by Jazzy2May. Thank you so much for all the reviews in the previous chapter. I hope you guys still read this even though the updates have become sparse in between. ^_^;

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They arrived at their new apartment right after Iruka was finished with his ramen. An Anbu guard had dropped down and given Kakashi the key to their new apartment and a copy of schedule for Iruka's next check-up. It was actually the guest quarters usually assigned for foreign shinobi and ambassadors when they came to visit Konoha and they had the building all to themselves. Two Anbu would guard the perimeter twenty-four/seven and they would report directly to Kakashi and Tsunade.

Once they reached the right door, their belongings greeted them. Iruka promptly picked up his and chose a room next to the bathroom and passed out on the bed without bidding a good night, too weary from their journey to care. Kakashi watched his antics, amused. He chose the remaining room which was nearer to the front door and places his back pack there. The silver haired man then investigated the whole apartment. They were placed at the top floor with an Anbu guard perched on the roof while the other was at the nearby tree.

The apartment was sparsely furnished. There were two rooms served as bedroom, a Japanese style bathroom, a kitchen counter dividing between the empty kitchen and the bare living room. The bedroom consisted of a single bed, a dresser, a desk and a chair; one small window and one door.

There were things that Kakashi needed to bring in to make the place more liveable for both of them, mainly his favourite books (a priority), his uniforms and weapons, food and household items. Kakashi could see that they would be living together for quite a while until this case was resolved entirely.

Shopping could be done the next day. What he needed to do now was to get his stuff. The night was still early and he hasn't felt tired. He laid some traps using the items on his person and with a final look at the occupied bedroom Kakashi went out through the window. He signalled for the guarding Anbu to stand guard as he headed to his own apartment.

****

Once everything had settled down in his new apartment, Kakashi opened his summoning scroll. He nicked his thumb with a kunai and swiped the trickled blood on the worn page. Immediately a puff of smoke burst in the room. Once it was cleared, a pack of three canines was revealed, sniffing the new space around them.

The smallest one wore the Konoha hitae-ate on his head sniffed the room experimentally. He then turned to his summoner. "It's been a long time boss. I smell Iruka sensei's scent. Shouldn't he be dead?" The lazy eyes looked at his master curiously while his two other companions sat silently beside him.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. It's a little late right now and I need to sleep. You three guard this house." Kakashi drawled and climbed onto his bed. He took off his mask and as he closed his eyes another puff of smoke broke out signalling the summons's departure. With his heart at ease from his trusting companions, Kakashi slept.

****

As the sun rose in the morning so was Kakashi, awake and ready for the day ahead of him. Contrary to Team 7's belief, Kakashi was an early riser. And it seemed as Kakashi discovered from the weeks he stayed with Iruka and the old couple, Iruka was not.

Kakashi watched amusedly as Iruka was cocooned in his blanket leaving only his dark brown tuffs to be seen. He went to the sole window in the bedroom and promptly yanked the curtains open, permitting morning sunlight inside the room. The silver haired man took great pleasure as he heard the cry of agony coming from the bed.

"Come on Iruka, It's time for you to wake up."

They had a lot to do today, including going to the supermarket to get house supplies, buying Iruka's clothes and maybe his own ninja gear. Naruto had set some money in the bank for their use before he went to the Kage Summit.

"Five more minutes, Miho-baa." Iruka mumbled inside his blanket, now wound tighter around him.

Kakashi looked at him placidly, silently counting to five before he went to the bed and yanked the blanket off the brunet. He got the evil eye that would have rendered ANBU to tears when receiving it but continued nonetheless.

"Get ready while I wait outside." He smiled good naturedly at the glowering man and left the room. Now Kakashi knew for certain that there was some part of him that had never changed. It was just hidden, waiting for the right condition to appear.

Fifteen minutes later, Iruka stepped into the living room, freshly showered and changed into his usual clothes; long sleeved shirt and a pair of cargo pants. Kakashi was sitting on the tatami mat already in his jounin uniform, reading his favourite orange book. On his shoulder, Pakkun perched lazily.

"Where are we going?- A dog!" Iruka rushed excitedly, wanting to pick it up off Kakashi's shoulder. His outstretched hands were stopped by the snapping jaw inches from his fingers and Iruka looked shockingly at the pug, his eyes betraying hurt.

"Sorry about that, Iruka." Kakashi apologised on the dog's behalf. "Pakkun here doesn't like to be picked up. He won't be able to move freely that way. He's a ninja dog."

"You can touch my paw. It's very soft and bouncy." Pakkun held out one of his paws in return.

"Wow, a talking dog." Iruka said in wonderment while touching his soft paw. "Is he your pet?"

The question earned him another attempt at ripping his fingers off. The brunet took a step back in alarm, hiding his fingers behind his back and away from those sharp teeth.

"Maa, he doesn't like to be called a pet, either. You see, he's one of my summons and my trusty partner when I'm on a mission." Kakashi explained.

"I'm sorry I called you a pet, Pakkun."

"Forgiven, Iruka-san." Pakkun almost bit his tongue when the word 'sensei' rolled around it. Kakashi had reminded him not to call him the title as it was considered offensive now to the brunet.

"Now that you're all set, let's go grab some breakfast, and no it's not ramen." He sweat dropped at the practically droopy expression on Iruka's face. The younger man resembled the young Naruto more and more. He didn't think the same excuses he had used on Naruto when he persuaded him to eat more vegetables would be applicable for the tan adult.

"You can eat ramen some other time, Iruka. You should try some of the other Konoha specials while you're here." Kakashi promised. Ramen as daily meals were not healthy for a person, Even Iruka Sensei knew that or rather had known once before he had lost his memory.

"I'd recommend Yakiniku Q's all you can eat buffet." Pakkun chimed in helpfully.

"No heavy stuff for breakfast either." Kakashi reminded.

In the end, all of them headed for the Tea Avenue. The place was the centre of food and delicacy in Konoha. Restaurants and food stands lined up at each side of the street offering variety of cuisine; local and foreign, all at acceptable prices according to the level of service; high class and medium class.

"Earlier, you said summonses right? That means more than one." Iruka asked once they were seated and waited for their orders to arrive. He looked at the small dog sitting lazily on his hind legs, looking bored. They were seated at the open space table outside the café, since animals no matter who they were or who they belonged to; or whether they were summons or not, were not allowed inside for the reason of health and sanitation.

"I have eight of them." Kakashi said, without looking up from his book. Twenty days deprived of his favourite literature made him keen on re-reading them. The scene where the beautiful Miko Katori-chan was saved by the gallant samurai Hagane-sama never failed to entertain him.

"Really?" Iruka was interested with this summons idea. "Can I see them?"

Kakashi looked up at him briefly before returning his attention to his book. "In due time, Iruka."

Iruka pulled faces at him. "I wonder if I have a summons." He mumbled to himself, not expecting it to be answered.

It was supposed to be a fleeting question and Iruka was surprise when Kakashi answered them seriously. "I don't know. All personal records of every shinobi in the village are kept confidential. Only people with high authorities can access them, naturally only Hokage and the record keeper have full access to them. Team leaders like myself have only partial access and only if relevant to missions. Since I've never worked with you before, access to your file is out of the question." It'll be interesting to find out what kind of summons Iruka has. They said that summons resembled their Master to an extent. So judging by Iruka sensei's bipolar characteristic, what kind of animal(s) would he have?

Iruka listened to his explanation silently. The food arrived and Kakashi thanked the waitress and snapped his chopsticks in two. In front of him, Iruka did the same. He didn't bother to sneak a peak at Kakashi's face, used to his discreetness when eating. Iruka quickly dug into his breakfast.

"Pakkun's not eating?" Iruka asked him. When he saw the pug sniffed the air inconspicuously before he took off without saying anything.

"He's already eaten in the apartment." Kakashi answered crisply. His bowl was already empty when Iruka looked up at him. The jounin continued with his reading ignoring the frowning lips forming on the tan face.

"Well, well, look what we have here." The voice near their table had Both Kakashi and Iruka looking up at the newcomers. Iruka recognized the man by the ever present senbon dangling between his lips. It was the same man he had seen at the Hokage office yesterday.

Kakashi sighed exasperatedly. "Yo, Genma. What is your business here?" He didn't need to have sharp hearing to recognise the underlying tones of threat in that one sentence.

"Hey, don't worry, I got the memo. 'A wide berth' got it." Genma said harmlessly. He turned to Iruka and waved at him. "The name's Genma by the way. We used to man the mission desk together back in the days."

"Hey." Iruka looked at him for a long time before he asked the man. "Are you Kakashi's friend?"

Genma cut him off before Kakashi could even open his mouth. "We had drinks together on bad nights and we watched each other's backs during missions together if that's how you'd like to think of it as friends." Genma seated himself without being invited. He motioned for a waitress with his raised hand and gave her his order then poured himself a cup of tea; all the time ignoring the look of annoyance on the masked man's face.

"So, Iruka. How do you like it here? Did Kakashi bully you? You know you can tell me and I'll kick his ass for you" Genma grinned rakishly, the senbon rolled between his lips.

Somehow the man's kindness annoyed him. "I can protect myself fine Genma-san and no, Kakashi didn't bully me."

Kakashi chuckled discreetly. Whether there was something funny from the book or he was laughing at Genma, nobody wanted to find out.

"What are you doing here, Genma?" Kakashi asked without once lifting his head from the book. Iruka almost frowned at his rudeness but Genma just chuckled, not at all offended by the jounin's antics, too used to Kakashi's eccentricities.

"I'm waiting for Raidou. He took a detour before coming here and asked me to grab a seat for him." As soon as Genma finished his words, a tall man wearing a uniform similar to Genma approached them and wordlessly sat in the vacated space beside Kakashi.

The man nodded to him once introducing himself to be Raidou before he waved for the waitress to take his order. Iruka couldn't take his eyes from the burnt scar marring the new comer's left cheek. It spread to his neck hidden behind the collar. He wanted so much to enquire about the scar but instead chomped on his food to swallow down his curiosity. Miho-baa taught him not to pry into other peoples' business.

"So?" Genma asked him casually receiving a shake of his spiky head from the brunet jounin.

"Gone like the wind."

"What is?" This time Iruka couldn't keep himself from blurting out his curiosity. He looked between the two men before asking Kakashi with his confused gaze. Kakashi merely shrugged his shoulders and stood up from his seat.

"Let's go, Iruka. We have a lot to do today."

Once Kakashi paid for their bill, Iruka bid his 'new' friends goodbye and followed the silver haired jounin towards the supermarket. On their way there, they passed a building where the children were throwing some weapons. Iruka stopped to watch them.

"That's the shinobi academy." Kakashi explained to him. "You used to be a teacher here and trained these children to become shinobi."

Iruka watched perplexed, trying to recall any memories that connected to the scenes but to no avail. He looked at Kakashi sadly and shook his head.

Kakashi placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "That's okay. There'll be plenty of time to remember once Tsunade-sama is done with her tests and we know the correct steps to take to heal you." He comforted.

****

They reached the front door with an armful of their bought goods. Once Iruka entered, boxes were found in the room. In front of those boxes was another dog sitting beside Pakkun.

"Another one. Is this your summons too?"

"Yup, this is Uuhei. He's the fastest runner in my pack." Kakashi introduced proudly.

"Hello, Iruka-san." The gruff voice greeted him. Uuhei lifted his front paw and Iruka took it and they shook hands.

"Hello." Replied Iruka.

"…"

They regarded each other before the red canine sighed. "You can hug me if you want." Iruka shouted in delight before he smothered him with rubs and scratches on his body. Uuhei's tail thumped wagged excitedly as he received attention from the brunet. Who knew the teacher could be so good at it. It was like the 'hands of God'. He responded back by licking Iruka's cheeks as thanks. Pakkun scoffed at their interaction. His pack mate was acting like a domestic dog; easily lost his dignity over a simple tummy rub. That's why he is the leader and not them.

Meanwhile, Kakashi scanned the array of boxes in his living room and raised his eyebrow in question. "They're Iruka-san's stuff." Pakkun stated simply. "The Anbu said that Naruto had ordered them to be taken out of his place and bring them here."

Iruka's belongings had been under Naruto's custody and kept at the Hokage's Mansion's storage room when the apartment manager asked for the room to be cleared for the next tenant. The blond hadn't had the heart to throw any of it away and some of it was Iruka's treasured mementos and secrets inherited from the Umino clan.

****

Iruka looked through those boxes in excitement. There were stacks of books, manuals, scrolls, weapons and clothes. Within an hour the living room was scattered with his old stuff. He eagerly tried on the chuunin uniform and showed it off to Kakashi.

"What do you think?" Iruka pranced in front of him. The dark blue uniform fitted him perfectly including the chuunin vest fastened securely on his torso. His legs bandage though, was tied loosely around his legs causing the hem of the pants to peek out and bunch in places. His hitae-ate was tied securely around his forehead.

Kakashi looked him over with his critical eye before commenting. "The uniform fits you though you need to work hard to earn it back."

"I know." He said petulantly.

The whole day was spent by arranging Iruka's stuff in the apartment. Kakashi helped him, though it was more of nosing through his belongings rather than helping. He kept away from the scrolls sealed with the family crest as he skimmed disinterestedly through his teaching journals, textbooks, manuals, etc. he did help him with the weapons sorting after the third cut on his fingers. Seriously, he wondered how Iruka had become a butterfingers from a skilled shinobi.

In between they had cup ramen as lunch much to Iruka's pleasure, and take out Chinese food for dinner. They settled in early for the night.

Once Kakashi was sure that Iruka had fallen asleep he slipped out through his window and reset the traps around it. He signed for the two Anbu to guard the building as Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

He appeared later in front of the hospital and discreetly climbed up the wall, heading for Tsunade-sama's window office. The Godaime was still in her office reviewing some reports. Her tea stood cold at the corner of her desk. She seemed to be waiting for him as soon as Kakashi entered; the blonde leader put down her paper and looked at him expectantly.

"Tsunade-sama." Kakashi greeted his leader. "The enemy have already made their move. The Anbu and my summons have reported that the apartment was scouted. Strangers were seen loitering in the vicinity and we were also followed while I took Iruka out today."

Tsunade mulled over this information. "It could also be that they are not the enemy just some harmless civilians trying to confirm Iruka's condition." It was a possibility that had to be spoken of even if it was a very remote one. "You know how well known and popular he was when he was still alive."

"That might be true, but this morning, Pakkun was with me. He tried to track one of the persistent followers but he was gone before Pakkun had a good smell on him. If they were harmless civilians, Pakkun would be able to track them easily. It never hurts to be cautious. The enemy could even be hiding among his friends."

"You're right. Be on your guard Kakashi. I've also instructed a couple of jounin to keep an eye on Iruka. We don't have any choice; either Iruka regains his memories or wait for the enemy to strike first. Either way we must be prepared."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi bowed and disappeared in the puffs of smoke.

* * *

A/n: About Iruka's summons, I'm still open to suggestions. XD

Next Chapter: The test results


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